Through the Darkness
by Monica-Ann
Summary: Blair copes with Todd away as Jack works to uncover who is after the family.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

August, 2013

The envelope was marked "MS. BLAIR CRAMER AND MR. JOHN CRAMER MANNING". It was large and fat and was delivered by courier service. No return address was evident. When Blair took it from the deliveryman, a chill ran down her spine. She took it into her room and opened it.

Inside the one large, legal-sized envelope were four smaller ones. Two were addressed to Blair, the large one and a smaller one. Surprisingly, a smaller one was marked for Viki Lord and the remaining two were addressed to Jack, one marked confidential. Blair opened the letter-sized one for her and read it in silence.

Not surprising to her, it was from Todd.

_Dear Mrs. Manning,_

_I'm sending you some papers I should have had prepared before I left town, but as it was a rush job and I had other things I needed to do that were more important, I had them done now and sent to you. The large envelope contains papers I had drawn up for the running of The Sun in my absence. I know you took it as an insult, but I really think the club is a stupid idea. You shouldn't be tending to a small corner of Llanview, populated by kids, some younger than our daughter. You should be commanding an empire, one we dreamed of ruling together years ago. As such, the paper is yours while I'm away. Then, when I do return (and I will be, when I figure out who's behind this mess) you and I will rule it together, the rest of the town be damned. _

_I'm also sending a note to Viki, but only give it to her if you think she should know what's been happening. She knows something is up and that the excuse I gave her for leaving was bullshit. I'm sure she'll be haranguing you for information, if she hasn't already. But I also know that she's kept secrets about me from you and you have every right not to tell her anything. I trust you in all things._

_I have two notes for Jack. One I'd like for you to be there for him to read, the other is strictly confidential. If he's open to the first one, give him the second. If not, hold it until he is open to it. Viki said I was getting through to him and I hope I finally have, although I doubt it, with my sudden exit. (What can I say? He's definitely a chip off the old blockhead.)_

_I know our marriage was supposed to be a secret, but I get the feeling that won't be for long. Just don't tell Delgado. Or Dorian, for that matter. With her husband's MIA, and her suspicious of every breath I take, I doubt she'll be very supportive of anything related to you and I. And Dorian would prefer you kill me and dump the body in the Llantano River. If you give Jack and Viki the notes, they'll know too, but Jack should and Viki will be there for you, more than Tea or the Head Witch._

_And burn this note when you've finished reading it. I addressed it to Mrs. Manning and I don't want certain people under your roof to know anything. And Dorian is liable to snoop around and find it._

_I miss you every day._

_I love you,_

_Todd_

Blair had a hard time reading the last line. The ink was getting smudged by the tear running down her cheek and hitting the paper. She reached for the large envelope and, as promised, it had the legal paperwork that gave her control of _The Sun_. She looked at the clock. It was too late in the day to go there and make the announcement, so she decided to wait till the next day to take charge. She picked up Todd's note and laughed a bit. He specifically told her not to tell Tea about their marriage and her sister-in-law had been the first person she had run to. Not that she had actually said the words, "Todd and I got married". Tea had deduced the sex and Blair's silent confession just followed, almost naturally. And Todd had been right. Tea hadn't been supportive…at first. But she replayed the memory of Tea reaching out to her at the Man of the Year dinner after Carl Peterson's speech about sacrifice and reassuring her that Todd would come back. She knew Tea wasn't even sure if Victor would return home to her.

Blair held the other three envelopes, to Viki and her son, when she heard Jack come into the house. He called to her and she asked him to come into her room. When he appeared in the door, she told him to close the door.

"I received a package today," she informed him, holding up the envelope. "It's from…it's from your father." She saw Jack's intake of breath and braced herself for his normal protestation of Victor as his father. Surprisingly, none came. She took that as a good sign. "There were a number of letters in it, as well as legal papers giving me control of _The Sun_."

"You, running _The Sun_?" came Jack's incredulous response. He sounded so much like Todd in that tone of voice, it made her miss her husband even more.

"I will have you know, I've run it a number of times over the years. And while pregnant, mind you," she retorted, making Jack break into a smile. "There's two notes here for you. Todd asked that you read this one," she handed him the small envelope, "with me here."

Jack looked at her hand and took it from her. He opened the envelope, took out the note card and took a deep breath as he began to read. After a few minutes, he looked back up at his mother. Blair grew so anxious she asked, "What does it say?"

Jack handed the letter to his mother.

_Jack,_

_I know you still can't stand me, but let me get this out first._

_I love you. I haven't said it enough to you from the minute your mom found out she was pregnant with you. And, I'll admit, Viki was right. I'd have loved you even if you were Holden's kid. _

_Too much time lost. And now, so much more. But in my absence, I'm leaving you an important job. You need to look out for our family. Your mother, your brother, Dani, Tea, Viki, hell, even any of your cousin who are around (okay, maybe not Kevin). We're all in danger. I'm trying to figure a way out of it, but there are people that are pulling my strings and using the people that I love to get me to do it. Your mother will fill you in when you're done with this. But keep an eye out. Be wary of anyone who comes into your orbit. Do I sound paranoid? Good, it's not such a bad thing. _

_Also, I've given over control of The Sun, in my absence, to my wife. If this is being read with who I am hoping there, you know who I'm talking about. And don't get mad at me. She insisted we get married. I was afraid, I still am afraid, of her being in more danger because of this. Protect her above everyone. I know she can live without me, I just can't live without her._

_Since I'm leaving her in control of the paper, I would love it if you would work beside her. You were doing some great stuff, even if it was aimed at me and I want to see it nurtured more. If you do decide to do that, read the other note I sent you. If not, she's gonna hold onto it if you change your mind, she'll give it to you._

_I love you, Jack. Take care._

_Your Father._

Blair looked up at her son, who was leaning against the dresser in silence. He looked back at her. "When was the wedding?" Jack asked at last.

"We went down to City Hall after you and Sam left that last day," she answered him.

He nodded once. "Why were you crying that night?"

"The keynote speaker was talking about the sacrifices soldiers make, being away from their family, to protect them. Now, Todd's about the furthest thing from a soldier, but the analogy fit and his absences was still fresh that it upset me."

"Is that what you meant by secrets? That you and he got married?" Blair only nodded. Jack shook his head. "You two…you can't stay apart from one another, even though it always ends in disaster. Why do you keep doing that to yourselves?"

"Because we love each other. Despite what your father said, I can't live without him." She patted a spot next to her on the bed and Jack sat there. "If I hadn't been pregnant with your sister when we thought Todd had died in Ireland, I would have flung myself into the ocean to be with him. Just because I have lived without him doesn't mean I actually can," Blair explained. When Jack gave her an incredulous look, she went on. "That was what I meant that night you came home to find me in tears. That kind of love, it's all consuming. I hope you do find love, maybe even that kind, but it comes with great pain too."

Jack decided to let it drop as he took the note from her again. "What kind of danger is he talking about?"

That was explained over the next hour and Jack's mind was reeling. It sounded crazy, but then Blair showed him copies of the notes Todd had received over the past few months. When Blair had explained everything, she told him about Todd's note for Viki. "He's left it up to me to decide if Viki should be let in. What do you think?"

Jack was a bit stunned that he was being asked a question like that. He'd never been let in on secrets, much less big ones like this. A petty part of him wanted it to remain such between him and his mother. But then he thought about the talk he'd had with his aunt about Todd and Victor. He knew how much she loved them both and how much she worried about them. Jack had never really noticed that closeness between Viki and Victor, but it was very clear with Todd. "Does Aunt Viki love Todd more?"

Blair was a little surprised by the question. Her first instinct was to say no, but she shifted through the memories of the three Lord siblings and she realized that Todd and Victor's relationships with Viki were very different, mostly because they were very different. "I don't think it's a matter of loving one more than the other. Todd came into Viki's life at a time she was going through a breakdown. When she came out of it, Todd was there to try and help her and in helping her, she helped him." Blair paused for a minute to collect her thoughts. "The night before we got married for the second time, Todd learned what had been done to Viki when she was a child."

"Victor Lord molested her, right?" Jack asked.

She nodded. "Just before we separated for the night, we had a doctor's appointment and after that, I told Todd I thought I was having a girl. He then dropped me off here and went on to Llanfair to tell the family about the wedding. He also asked Viki about his father…and Viki told him what he had done to her." Jack could see her mother lost in thought. "He was horrified by it and coupled with what he had done to Marty…He also believed that it was in him to do the same thing to his own daughter. He took off and no one knew where he had gone. But Viki eventually did and talked him off the proverbial ledge. Since then, they had a connection."

"But Victor had his memories, right? Wouldn't he have felt that connection too?" Jack asked, trying to sort things out.

Blair sighed. She could see her son trying to understand the odd family dynamics but the Lord tree was so twisted, even she had a hard time with it. "It's just a different relationship. I think, in her heart, Viki sensed the differences in them and that's why she reacts differently to them."

Jack nodded at that. "She's worried about Todd more though." It was a statement and one that Blair couldn't deny. As she nodded, Jack stood up. "Then I think Aunt Viki should know. I mean, I'd want Starr to know if I were in danger, even if after she got me out of it, she never let me live it down."

Blair stood up and hugged Jack. "I agree with that." Then she held up the second note for Jack. "Do you want this?"

Jack looked at the envelope in his mother's hand but shook his head. "Not right now, but soon. I need…I need to think some things over."

She understood what he was saying and nodded to the door. "Come on, let's see your aunt." With that, they left.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

August, 2013

It wasn't that Blair had ever felt unwelcomed at Llanfair. But she generally went with Todd's feelings about his ancestral home and he had always felt uncomfortable there, to say the least. Sure, there was a little bit of truth in what Todd's letter had said. Viki had always taken Todd's side, kept his secrets and she had to guess that those actions factored into any feelings she had about the Lord estate and the chatelaine of the manor herself.

But, as usual, Viki was gracious when Blair and Jack stepped inside. "This is a lovely surprise. What brings the two of you here?"

Blair looked at Jack and began, "Well, we wanted to check in with you and…and see how Clint is doing." It was a lame excuse and she was sure that Viki had seen right through it.

Viki knew Clint was the last thing of Blair's mind, but she let it slide as she led Blair and Jack into the library and closed the door behind them. "Actually, there's still the seventy-two hour hold on him, so I haven't checked in. And they wouldn't let Natalie in to see him either."

Blair nodded. She tried to think of something else, but, failing that, she came out with, "I heard from Todd today." She glanced at Jack and added. "We both did."

Viki perked up at the mention of her brother. "Is he alright? Where is he?"

Jack noticed the change in demeanor. He looked to his mother as she said, "He's fine, but I don't know where he is. He didn't tell me that." Blair took a deep breath. "Viki, there's been a lot going on since Todd came back to town."

"You could say that," Viki responded. "And I suspect you've known about a good deal of it."

"Todd has told me what's been going on. He didn't want to worry you. That's why he hasn't said anything," Blair tried to cover. Then, she reached into her purse and pulled out three notecards, handing the top one to Viki. "Before Todd left Port Charles, he received this note."

Viki read it and looked shocked. "He knew Victor was alive before he came home?"

Blair nodded, but it was Jack who spoke. "It was weird. After Victor burst in at the hospital, we were all stunning. But the look in Todd's eyes…it was more like a confirmation rather than a shock. You'd think that he'd go white at seeing the guy he thought he killed. But it wasn't like that at all."

Viki looked at Jack as smiled. She wanted to comment on his uses of her brothers' names, and not Dad or Scarface. It appeared as though Jack may have turned a corner with his father.

"And when we went to the coffee shop," Blair added, "he was almost nonchalant about thinking he killed Victor. If that had been me, I'd have been shaken."

Viki remembered a time when Blair had shot a man and thought she'd killed him. She'd nearly had a nervous breakdown. It was Todd who had taken control of the situation. "So Todd was aware that Victor was alive. And of course, he wouldn't have got to the authorities with this information."

"He was more worried about Dani. She'd been drunk dialing him and the first thing he asked me at the club was if I'd seen Dani," Jack said. "Then, she passed out right there and we all headed to the hospital and, well, that was where Victor showed up."

"Viki, there's a lot more than just Todd knowing Victor was alive," Blair said, trying to get back on track. "After he was back, after Victor left again, he came to the club, told me he had to show me something. But before we could go, some took a shot as us…at me."

"Yes, I remember, he came over the next morning to see if I was okay," Viki said. Blair pulled out the next note and handed it over to Todd's sister. Her refined manner fell to the wayside as she read the names of on the card. "Natalie…"

"All the family that's at least in town, plus Starr. We've all been set up as targets. Todd thinks they got to Dani with the drugs and tried to get to me with the shooting. He has Shaun on as security at La Boulaie for the rest of us," Blair explained.

Viki looked from the second note back to the first. "'Finish what you started or else'. Do they mean…?"

Blair nodded. "Kill Victor." She took a deep breath. "Todd had a plan for that. He got a dead body and was going to have it tattooed with the same symbol Victor has, the same as the one on those notes, and dump it in the river. When the authorities found it, he'd give Natalie his DNA sample so that it showed up as Victor's." Pulling out the third note, Blair finished her story. "Before the body could be found, Todd got this note."

"Oh, God," Viki gasped, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked up and saw tears forming in Blair's eyes. She got up and gathered the woman in her arms. When she pulled away, she said, "That's why he had to leave? Because this…this organization was forcing his hand?" Blair could only nod her head, as she tried to keep her emotions in check. "What does Todd, or Victor for that matter, have that they want?"

Blair was able to calm herself down. "Todd doesn't know. And this symbol, it's different from the one that of the group that held him for all those years."

Viki heard the unspoken name Blair was thinking. At one point, she had believed her father had been the root of all evil within the family. Now she was seeing that Irene was just as bad, if not worse.

"There was one silver lining to Todd leaving," Blair began. Her gaze fell to her hand and she slipped off a long gold ring she wore on her left finger.

Viki eyes grew bright as she smiled at Blair. "Oh, darling," she said as she hugged the woman again. "When Todd first returned, that Halloween, he told me he was determined to get you back. I'm so pleased to see that it's finally happened, even under these circumstances."

"The thing is, Viki, it's supposed to be a secret. I told Tea, because we're in the same boat, and I told Jack." She put her hand on her son's shoulder. "He had a right to know. But Todd gave me the choice to tell you everything, and it has to remain a quiet. I know how good you are at keeping his secrets. I need you to keep mine."

Viki understood what she was saying. She nodded her assurance. "Is there any help you need? I would do anything to bring my brothers home, you know that."

Before Blair could answer, the doors to the library opened to Natalie and Liam. The redhead stopped in her tracks at the sight of Blair and Jack. "Oh, hey Mom, I didn't know you had company."

Viki stood up. "Blair and Jack just stopped by to see about your father," Viki explained, easily keeping up the appearance of a simple visit, out of concern.

"Yes, your mother said they didn't let you see Clint when you went to the hospital," Blair remarked.

Natalie had a faraway look in her eyes for a moment. Then, as is a spell had been broken, she replied, "Yeah, the doctors were going to be doing an evaluation all night and I wasn't allowed to see him." Then, swinging Liam's arm, she said, "So we decided to come and check up on Grandma!"

Liam ran over to a crouching Viki and gave her a hug. "Well, I'm so glad you did."

"And I also came to tell you that I spoke to Kevin this morning. We had an impromptu board meeting and Cord's coming back to Llanview to run BE while Dad's incapacitated. He and Aunt Tina should be here in the morning," Natalie informed them.

At the mention of Tina Lord Roberts, Blair couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Viki, I have a feeling that you'll be needing to batten down the hatches. Jack and I'll get going."

"Blair, I'll walk you out," Viki told her. She looked down at Liam. "Why don't you and your mommy go into the kitchen and we'll have a snack." Liam jumped up and down a few times and ran off, his mother following him. Blair, Jack and Viki went into the foyer. As she opened the door, she said, "I will keep all you told me a secret. I realize how dangerous the situation is."

Blair smiled. "Thank you, Viki."

"But I would like to be the one to tell Dorian about your marriage," she added with a wicked smile.

Blair was somewhat unsurprised by the idea that the prim and proper Viki Lord would still be an adolescent bitch given the right circumstances. She tried not to hide the smirk on her lips as she gave an acquiescing acknowledgement to the request.

When they got to the car, Jack turned to her. "Aunt Viki's gonna have a field day with that one, isn't she?" He shook his head. "Why do they hate each other so much?"

"I think they've gotten to the point that even they don't remember why," Blair admitted. They pulled into the driveway at LaBoulaie and noticed an unfamiliar car there. "Wonder who's here."

"Yeah, that's not Uncle David's car," Jack agreed.

They walked into the house and could hear Dorian's laughter wafting through. A male voice could be heard, apparently continuing whatever story Dorian was reacting to. "So I told the Senator, 'That's not what that's used for.' Not that he'd know, being that he's around a hundred years old."

"Oh, I can only imagine," Dorian replied after she calmed down.

Blair and Jack walked into the living room to find Carl Peterson sitting next to Dorian, sipping a glass of wine. Dorian caught Carl's gaze and turned around. "Oh, darlings, I didn't even realize you two were out! Come and join us!"

Blair took the sight in. "Actually, Dorian, it's been a long day and I'm kinda tired."

"And I have some reading I need to finish up for class tomorrow," Jack said.

"Not before I introduce you to my friend, Carl Peterson. Carl, my nephew, John Cramer" Dorian swallowed as she said, almost under her breath, "Manning."

"Hello, John," Carl said holding out his hand.

"It's Jack. Aunt Dorian just likes saying my full name," Jack replied, grimacing. He hated whenever his full name was used. It usually meant he was in some kind of trouble. And as he thought that, he also realized he had a reaction to Dorian's almost choked out addition of his surname. For once, he kind of liked the fact that Dorian had a hard time saying it.

"Manning. Almost as big in this town as Lord…or Cramer. A rather unique lineage you have. They grand-nephew of a senator on your mother's side and the grandson of a publishing magnate on your father's," Carl said.

At that, Dorian almost choked on her wine and Blair and Jack's eyes widened. Jack had always tried to not think of who his grandfather was. Even Victor had instilled in him a loathing of Victor Lord Sr.

"Um, like I said, I have work I need to do," he repeated as he hustled up the stairs. He got to the top step and turned at the sound of Dorian's voice. "We all try not to think about that man in this house."

The reply came, "That's right, you were married to him for a brief time." Jack had been aware of that, somewhere in the back recesses of his mind. That probably had something to do with Aunt Viki's request earlier.

"Yes, and it was not a happy marriage," Dorian's voice trailed off as she returned to the living room. Jack had become engrossed in trying to hear the rest of the conversation he didn't notice his mother standing over him when she found him there.

Blair looked back down the stairs. "That would be the main reason why they hate each other. And I think that's also the reason Viki really wants to spill to Dorian when the time comes."


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

August, 2013

Jack had a hard time getting to sleep that night. He hadn't realized how much his life had changed since he's woken up this morning. He learned that his mother had gotten remarried, in secret, to his father and that this entire family was in danger from some mysterious organization. He'd also been reminded that his Aunt Dorian had, at one time, been married to his reviled grandfather, and that his Aunt Viki still looked for ways to get to his Aunt Dorian (although, in truth, he was sure Aunt Dorian tried to get back at Aunt Viki too).

He paused for a minute on his grandfather. Victor Lord, Sr., one of the most revered men in Llanview, had become, for as long as Jack had been alive, a figure of such disgust that his name was hardly mentioned. Few dared to talk about him in Aunt Viki's presence. It was in the minute that, beyond his crimes, Jack realized he knew very little about the man.

Since he wasn't getting any sleep, he got out of bed, fired up his computer and ran a search on LlanNet. The first thing that popped up, ironically, was his obituary. Jack decided that it would paint the most objective picture of the man. He clicked on it and noticed it was from the 1970's. Of course, that was when he originally died. (Somewhere, he'd known that Todd had met his father, which had to have happened after his twenty-fifth birthday, and that was obviously after the 1970's.)

The obit had standard stuff. Husband of Dr. Dorian Cramer Lord, father of Victoria, Anthony and the late Meredith, grandfather of Daniel Wolek, publisher of _The Banner _and owner of the grand estate, Llanfair. But reading further, Jack hadn't known that Victor's own grandfather had emigrated from the coal fields of Wales or that he had self-taught himself the newspaper business. _Like father, like son_, Jack thought, remembering the stories about how Todd had single-handedly turned a supermarket rag into the biggest tabloid outside of Philadelphia. _Maybe Todd had picked up a good trait of his father's. _

Jack was even further surprised to learn that Senior had been a World War Two vet and a member of the OSS. Jack filed that away in his own memory banks.

Eventually, there was nothing else new to be learned from the obituary and anything else to come to light about the subject wouldn't for nearly two more decades. Yet, he did find himself wanting to learn more. He knew anything else would disgust him. This was a man who had a whole other family with a woman his daughter's age, one he'd promptly ignored. Not to mention what he'd done to his own daughter.

The only people he could think of to talk about Victor to would be Aunt Viki and Aunt Dorian. But Dorian, he had been able to tell earlier, didn't want to relive that period of her life and talking about him to Aunt Viki was a dicey proposition, if history was any indication. Jack looked at the obit again and noticed the last name Wolek. Hadn't there been a doctor by that last name in town for a long time? It was something he'd have to ask his mother in the morning.

Jack turn off the computer and flopped back into the bed. It seemed the little bit of research had paid off, as he was soon asleep.

The next morning, Jack was the last person in for breakfast. When he turned the corner to the table, his mother gave him a smile. "Someone must have been exhausted. Hope all that studying is helping out."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I had a productive evening, I guess you could say." He made it sound like he had actually been studying his summer school English. "Is is alright if I swing by your work after class today?" He gave his mother a knowing look.

Blair picked up on it, over the head of Dorian. "Sure, you are always welcome to hang out with me there."

Jack nodded and grabbed a bagel as he headed out the door.

Dorian looked at the retreating figure. "'Hang out' at the club? Oh, darling, he should have a quiet place to study."

"At that hour of the day, it is quiet," Blair commented, know she wasn't talking about Shelter. She looked at her watch. "I gotta go. Jimmy's mom will be here in a bit to pick up Sam." She kissed her youngest son and made her way out of LaBoulaie.

She pointed her car in the direction of the Manning Building, ironically, in the opposite direction of the club. When she entered, the girl at the front desk was surprised to see her. "Ms. Cramer, what are you doing here?" she asked in a mix of confusion and rudeness.

"I need to see the editorial staff in Mr. Manning's office as soon as possible. Just tell them, all will be explained when we're together," Blair replied.

A few minutes later, she entered Todd's office a looked around. It still looked the same as it had under Victor and Blair was surprised by that. She was sure he had loathed anything that showed Victor's tastes. But then again, she realized how little time he'd actually spent here, between the arrest and trial and the move to Port Charles.

Wanting to not dwell on any of that, she sat down and began going through papers as the staff filed into the office. The last one in was the Managing Editor, Charlie Briggs. Blair smiled. It was comforting seeing the old newsman's face still here after nearly two decades. When Briggs saw her, he returned the bright smile and said, "Ms. Cramer, what are you doing here?"

Blair pulled out the legal document Todd had sent the day before. "With Todd out of town for an extended period of time and, quite frankly, with Victor also out with the authorities looking for him, " Blair said, "Todd left me in charge of _The Sun_."

A murmur ran through the room and, for a brief moment, Blair was unsure of herself. She had taken over the paper a few times when Todd was unable to run it, but that had been years ago. She couldn't remember the last time she had been put in this position. She also realized that, to a majority of the people in the room, she was sure to be seen as an interloper.

"Look, I know a lot of you don't know much about me. But, to reassure everyone, I have taken the reins when needed. I don't claim to know everything about this business, but I am hoping that you all can help me for as long as I need to be here," she announced. "Also, my son Jack will be helping out as well, as an intern. He's tried his hand in this business and actually done quite well." She heard more hushed tones and held her breath, waiting for a reaction.

She shouldn't have been surprised that it was Briggs that spoke up. "Ms. Cramer, when you ran this place, it was at its best, save for Todd's running it. I have no doubt it will again. Any help you need, you have it, from all of us. Right, people?"

Blair let out a breath as the contingent of editors nodded in agreement. Blair dismissed them after a word of thanks but asked Briggs to stay behind. When the room cleared, she said, "Thank you for your support. You have no idea what it means to me."

"If Todd left you in charge, he knew what he was doing. Don't worry, whatever help you need, you have it Mrs. Man—I mean, Ms. Cramer," Briggs corrected him. He offered his hand and she shook it before he, too left for the newsroom.

Blair sat back down and smiled. Old Charlie Briggs didn't know how right he had almost been there. She sat down and began looking over files and copy. She hadn't realized how long she'd been working when Jack came in. "Oh, hey, class is done already?"

"Yeah, we had a sub in today. He wanted to be there as much as the rest of us, so we got through the lesson quickly. I wanted to come and see if I could help with anything," Jack replied.

"Well, I had a staff meeting first thing this morning. I think they were unsure of me, but Briggs instilled confidence in them," she said. "He almost called me Mrs. Manning."

Jack couldn't help but roll his eyes, but offered no verbal comment. "Anything I can get you?"

Blair kind of expected that reaction from her son. "Well, since you're merely an intern here, why not go get me some coffee. I think I'm in for a long night."

Jack obliged and headed to the coffee shop. As he turned to head back, he noticed Matthew Buchanan come in. "Hey there," he said.

He received what he assumed was the typical greeting a Buchanan not related to him gave a Manning. Matthew's eyes narrowed in suspicion for a brief moment. Then, as if remembering any politeness he had, he responded, "Hi Jack."

As Matthew moved to the counter, Jack said, "My mom and I stopped in to see Aunt Viki yesterday. She said there's still the seventy-two hour hold on your uncle, so Natalie wasn't able to see him." Jack waited for a response, but it seemed none would come. Then, just as he opened the door, Matthew said, "What? No, before I left the hospital, Natalie basically ordered the guy to let her see Uncle Clint."

Jack stopped in his track. "That's not what Aunt Viki told us. And when Natalie got there, she said the same thing."

"Well, when I left, Natalie was about to rip the hospital apart to go find him," Matthew repeated. "So administrator led her to the psych ward."

That wasn't making any sense to Jack, but he let it drop and left. When he got back the _The Sun_, he found his mother still at the desk. "Thought you got lost there," Blair said cheerfully.

Jack put the coffee down and tried to figure out how to proceed. He went back to the office door and locked it, before turning to Blair and saying, "Natalie's name was on the list, right?"

Blair looked up at him immediately. A rush of fear ran down her spine. "Yes, her name was there."

Jack sat down, trying to reason something in his head. "Todd's never liked Natalie, right? Why would he care if she were in danger?"

Blair sat back, bringing her full attention to her son. "I wouldn't think it's a matter of Todd protecting only those family members he liked. If that were true, I'd think that list would be very short. Like, it'd only have our names, Starr's, Dani's, Sam's and Viki's. But whoever is after us probably knows that, even if Todd doesn't like Natalie, she's still Viki's daughter. And Todd loves his sister, if not all her children."

"But why doesn't Todd like Natalie?"

Blair took a deep breath, bringing those memories to the forefront. "Todd saved Jessica's life, even before he knew she was his niece. Because of that, they've always had a unique bond. Jessica was old enough to know Todd for what he did to Marty, but also what he did for her. And Tina's son, CJ, too."

"What did Todd do?"

"There was an accident. Marty, ironically, was behind the wheel and it nearly went over the edge. Todd saved Jessica, CJ and Marty. That led CJ to ask the Governor for a pardon for Todd, which was eventually granted. And, it was several months later that CJ found out the man who saved him was his uncle," Blair explained. "It took Jessica a little while longer to warm up to Todd, but once they did, they had a solid relationship. Todd helped Jessica out of a few problems over the years." At that, she smiled at the memory of seeing Todd outside the bar in Cincinnati. Then her eyes went back to her son. "But when Natalie announced that she was Clint and Viki's daughter, Todd didn't handle it well. He's always thought of her as an interloper."

"Well, he seemed to care enough about her to let her know about McPain's new girl," Jack said.

Blair stood up and went to another table. "Don't think that was for Natalie's benefit. He did that to go after John, for arresting him when we were…together."

"For a murder that didn't actually happen," Jack mumbled under his breath. But before Blair could comment, Jack said, "I saw Matthew when I went to get coffee. He told me something that doesn't make sense. Now, Aunt Viki and Natalie both said she wasn't allowed to see her father, right?" Blair nodded to that. "But when I mentioned that to Matthew, he said that Natalie insisted on seeing him and was taken down to do that."

"That doesn't make any sense," Blair said. "And Matthew was sure Natalie was taken to see him?" Jack nodded as Blair went to her office phone. "Briggs, do we have anyone on the Clint Buchanan breakdown story?"

The fluttered voice came over the intercom. "Yeah, but I'd think we'd take a measure of discretion with it. I mean, he's supposed to marry Ms. Lord, right?"

A wicked smile flashed on Blair's face, unseen by the editor, but noticed by her son. "When has Todd ever given discretion to the Buchanans, even to those that are related to him?"

A loud sigh could be heard. "That's true," Briggs admitted sadly. "I'll have our guy look into it further. See if he can dig up any sources at the hospital." With that, the connection ended.

Blair's eyes beamed at Jack. "You may have broken a big story…and taken a step to help the family."

"Should we let Aunt Viki know about this…discrepancy? Maybe, as the mother of his kids, she can get more information," Jack suggested.

Blair understood the sentiment, but she wanted to involve Viki as little as possible. "Why don't we wait to see what turns up."

Jack wasn't sure that was the right idea, but reluctantly agreed. He had a bad feeling Natalie and Matthew's contradictory stories spelled bad news for everyone else. Then, he remembered something. "Does the name Daniel Wolek ring a bell with you?"

Blair thought about it for a moment. "Not a Daniel, but Larry Wolek was the chief of staff at Llanview Hospital for a lot of years." Then, as if a lightbulb went off, she added, "I think Daniel may be his son. Why?"

Jack let out a breath. "Last night, I couldn't sleep, so I looked up Victor Lord's obituary. It mentioned a grandson, Daniel Wolek."

Blair nodded, remembering more. "He was. Daniel's mother was your aunt, Meredith. But she died, I think before Dorian was even married to the old man."

"Is Dr. Wolek still around?" Jack asked. "It's just, I have questions…about…" Jack looked unsure of what to say. "I don't want to ask Aunt Dorian or Aunt Viki. Those memories are too painful and I just…"

Blair understood. "Even though he retired as chief of staff, I think he still has an office at the hospital."

Jack nodded and got up. "If you don't need me, I think I'll go see if he's there. See if he has any answers." When his mother acknowledged his departure, he left. He hoped Larry Wolek would have answers to the questions he really didn't want to ask anyone else.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

August, 2013

After Jack left, Blair found she was having a hard time concentrating. Being in Todd's office, sitting in his chair, behind his desk, she couldn't help but feel closer to him. It only made her miss him more. She grabbed her purse and opened it, pulling out her phone. Going to the pictures, she found the one she was looking for and a tear formed in her eye.

It had been taken in the judge's chambers after they had been married. She caressed the picture, remembering the day.

_Blair's body was wracked by sobs, even as Todd held her. She should have known this would happen. Todd had sworn to her, just the other day, she wouldn't lose him and yet, it was happening again. He would be ripped from her. She fought to control her emotions as Todd placed a soft kiss on her forehead. It stilled her at last. _

"_Never enough time," he said, full of melancholy. "Guess we never will have that fairy tale ending. Not meant for people like us."_

_She remembered being up at the cabin, echoing a similar sentiment and it was Todd who had corrected her. Something about that memory, coupled with the situation now, took root in her and she jumped off the couch, standing ramrod straight. "No. We are going to have that fairy-tale ending." She took a deep breath as she responded with, "Marry me."_

_A bemused smiled played over his lips. "Blair, it's usually the guy who does the asking." He looked at her like she had been kidding and her features hardened. "You're serious?"_

_Blair merely crossed her arms. _

_Todd stepped back and shook his head. "No. Absolutely not!"_

"_Why not?" she challenged him. "You don't love me anymore?"_

"_You know why," he replied. "And that is the furthest thing from the truth!" He started prowling around the room, like a caged animal. "Blair, they've already threatened you. Hell, they've already taken a shot at you! If they found out we got married…" He turned to face her, his own eyes wet with tears. "Us getting married…" He couldn't even finish his sentences. _

_She went up to him and took his hands in hers. "Todd, I love you. And I am going to lose you again. But if we do this, it's something for you to hold on to. Like you said you held on for those eight years. It's a reason for you to come back."_

"_I'm never going to be allowed to come back," he said softly. He pulled his hands out of her grasp and went to the desk picking up the latest note. _

"_We can do this in secret," she said, almost begging._

_A short, nonhumorous laugh choked out of him. "When has anything stayed secret in this town?" _

"_Todd, I'm trying to hang onto anything here!" Blair cried. "Give me something to hold on to!" He turned to her and she saw the pain in his eyes, going down to the depths of his soul. "Please Todd. If this is the last thing we do…"_

_He rushed to her, taking her face in his hands. Their lips connect as melted into each others. Then, he dropped down to one knee. Holding her hands in his, he kissed them and looked up at her. "Marry me?" he asked quietly, through his tears._

_As the morning dawned, Todd and Blair informed Tea of the latest development with Victor. Then, Todd headed out to Llanfair to say goodbye to his sister. He stopped by and told Dani he had to go away on business. Lastly, he headed over to LaBoulaie, to say his goodbyes to Sam and Jack. Soon after the two boys left, Todd and Blair were in Judge Franklin's chambers as he pronounced them husband and wife. The clerk snapped the picture and they went back to The Palace Hotel for their wedding night. By the morning, Blair's heart was broken._

Blair was brought out of her revelry by the office door opening. She wasn't surprised when Tea walked in. "Hey, I see you got my message."

Tea's demeanor spoke all business. "You said it was important, so I came."

"Victor kept you on retainer for _The Sun_, is that correct?" Blair asked. Tea nodded. "Would you be shocked to know that Todd never changed that?"

"What?" she questioned as Blair handed her the paperwork.

"As such," Blair began again, "I need to file this with you."

Tea didn't even blink when she finished the second set of papers. "Todd gave you control of the paper. Well, it does make sense, you've done it before," she remarked as she sat down heavily in a chair in front of the desk.

It was then that Blair noticed the circles under Tea's eyes. "Is everything okay?"

"No everything is the opposite of okay," her sister-in-law said. "Dani's sleeping with her dealer's boyfriend. You remember the man she was with at the dinner?" When Blair nodded, Tea told her, "His name is Arturo Bandini…and he's probably the same age as Victor." Tea let out a bitter laugh. "I ordered her to stay away from him."

"And I bet that just worked," Blair said.

"My husband's been captured, his only help is a brother who hates him, my daughter is probably shacking up with someone her father's age and there's nothing I can do about any of it," she whined. "When did this happen?

"When did what happen?" Blair asked.

"You becoming the one with the stable relationship, the kids you don't have to worry about and me…at the other end of the spectrum," Tea explained. Then she stood up, shaking her head. "Never mind. Alright then, thank you for making me aware of all this. If you need anything, let me know." Without another word, Tea walked out, leaving Blair speechless.

She sat back as she thought about all of Todd's children. She remembered a time Jack had confided his fears at becoming like Todd, and thus, like Victor Lord, Sr. Starr, of course, had been so like Todd, people around town rolled their eyes and whispered "Todd Manning, Jr." about her. Now, it seemed that Dani was morphing into another member of the family…her grandmother that seduced (or was seduced?) by a much older man.

It seemed the Lord branches continued to get mangled, even into the present day, with so much of the past known.

* * *

Jack found the office of Dr. Larry Wolek at Llanview Hospital and when he walked in, he saw who he guessed was the doctor standing next to his secretary's desk. The woman stopped what she as saying and asked, "Can I help you, young man?"

Jack's eyes flickered to Dr. Wolek. "Um, are you Dr. Wolek?" he asked. When the man nodded, he extended his hand. "I'm Jack Manning, Todd Manning's son." Jack was surprised at how easily the words slipped out of his mouth. "I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions."

Dr. Wolek looked at his secretary. "I believe my appointments are over for the day." The woman nodded an affirmative to the inquiry and Dr. Wolek turned back to Jack. "Why don't you come in," he offered as he pointed towards his door. Jack followed and Larry closed the door when he stepped in. "So, what can I help you with? Are you not feeling well?"

"No, it's not that," Jack answered quickly. "It is something I don't think I can talk to anyone else in the family about." Jack sat down, trying to figure out how to go about this. "You were married to Meredith Lord, right?"

Larry sat back in his chair for a minute, then nodded gravely. "It was only for a few years. She…she died in an accident."

"When?" Jack asked.

"1973. There was a hostage situation at Llanfair and, in trying to escape, she fell and…hit her head. There was too much trauma to her brain," Larry said.

"That was before her father died," he said, almost under his breath. He then looked back up at Dr. Wolek. "What can you tell me about Victor Lord, my grandfather?" As Larry lean on his desk, Jack continued. "I don't want to ask Aunt Viki because I'm afraid she'll…And I don't want to ask Aunt Dorian because it's not going to be a good reaction from her either. And there aren't many people left in town who knew him. But, he was your father-in-law. So, you must have had some interaction with him."

Larry had become surprised by the whole tone of the conversation. He hadn't honestly given much thought to Victor Lord in a long time. But, here was the man's grandson, sitting before him. Larry knew the history Jack carried on his shoulders and he could see the young man in distress. Larry nodded. "What do you want to know?"

They sat in his office for nearly two hours as questions were asked and answered. Jack was surprised to learn some of the information Larry had imparted to him. He was unsurprised to learn his grandfather hadn't thought Larry was good enough for his daughter or that Joe Riley was good enough for Aunt Viki. But Jack felt it was a good talk. It was the most honest answers he could have hoped for about the man.

As he walked out of the hospital, he passed the security office. He noticed all the cameras around the hospital and wondered if they would have any in the psych ward. Maybe he'd pay another visit to Uncle Larry. He was sure he had more stories to tell.

He was still thinking about the conversation when he entered the foyer of LaBoulaie. He heard his Aunt Dorian call out, "Who's there?" Jack walked into the living room to announce his presence. Dorian turned around. "Oh, I'm glad your home. Ah, did you have a substitute for your class today?"

Jack's eyes narrowed. "Yes, why do you ask?"

"You know how I say 'honesty is the best policy'?" Dorian asked, almost sweetly.

"I have never heard you say that," Jack stated, matter-of-factly.

Dorian merely shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I ran into a member of the board of education a few days ago and I may have mentioned that I thought your teacher, Miss Lane, seemed to be a little too…familiar with you the day I met her at the coffee shop." She then braced herself for the expected tirade. Shockingly, none came. Jack just stood there, arms crossed. He looked very much like his father, at that moment. "Look, Jack, it seems that it's en vogue nowadays for teachers to take…more than the usual amount of interest in young, male students and it's not right. Especially not for a woman as attractive as Ms. Lane. I received a call this morning after you left telling me that she had been dismissed."

Jack rolled his eyes. Part of him was peeved that his aunt was sticking her nose in his relationships. But then, something made him remember the note that Todd had left him. _Be wary of anyone who comes into your orbit_. Why had Kate picked him up that day at the coffee shop? He shook that thought out of his head. Jack could then tell that Dorian was waiting for a response from him. Sighing melodramatically, he said, "Fine, whatever."

He turned to toward the door, but before he got there, Dorian said, "You're a handsome young man. Believe me, in a few years, all the the girls will be throwing themselves at you and you'll find someone much more appropriate."

Jack merely nodded as he left. When he got to his room, he realized that he hadn't given Kate much thought since their last time together. His thoughts had been occupied by his mother, his father and his family. He looked at a picture on his desk, of Starr and him taken long ago. He missed Starr but at the same time, it was invigorating being in on a family scheme, something Starr was usually the go to kid in this situation. He also, for some strange reason, relished the fact that he knew something his sister had longed for most of her life…their parent's reunion. Much like Aunt Viki to Aunt Dorian, he'd be an immature brat with the information when the time came.

He was lying on his bed when his mother came in a while ago. "Did you go talk to Larry Wolek?" she asked.

Jack nodded his head. "Mostly what I'd expect. But I think I'd have liked to have been at their wedding. Apparently, Victor was blowing a gasket at the thought of giving his daughter away in marriage to him." Then he said, "He has some pictures he wants to show me. I think he was happy to talk about Meredith with some, even after all these year."

"I wonder what they'd have thought of me, Victor and Meredith," Blair said. "I can't think it would have been anything nice, given the experience of Tina." She looked at the clock on the table. "Well, you've got class in the morning and it's getting late." She kissed the top of his head.

As she turned to leave, Jack said, "Not right now, but I think soon, I'll be asking you for that second note from Todd."

Blair nodded, a smile on her face. "Good night, son. I love you."

"Love you too, Mom," Jack answered as the door closed.


	5. Chapter 5

AUTHOR'S NOTE: For more on the story of how one of the couples brought into the story here got back together, I highly recommend Cimz's "For Some, a Long Way" here on .

CHAPTER 5

August, 2013

Blair was balancing a purse, an attaché case and a café mocha as she stepped out of the coffee shop and into someone walking in. The bags fell to the floor and the coffee wound up on the poor customer's shirt. "Oh, I am so sorry. I don't have enough hands for all this…" she began when she finally looked up. "Cordero Roberts, I see you've arrived."

The businessman let out a hearty laugh. "Not soon enough to get out of the way of Blair Cramer, though," he said, charming as ever. "Here, let me help you with that."

"Oh, I got it all on your shirt," she noticed. "I am so sorry."

"That's all right. You seem to be juggling a lot of stuff there," Cord commented.

"Well, I kind of have a new job," she began hesitantly. "Todd is out of town on business."

"Yeah, Viki told us when we got here yesterday," he said.

"And it's going to be for an extended time. So, in his absence, he left me in charge of _The Sun_," she explained.

"Really? That's a surprise," Cord replied.

"Well, I have done it before," she answered, getting as bit defensive. "And despite a lot of troubles we've had over the years, he's always trusted me in matters of business. And, there really is no one else. Starr's not in Llanview anymore and Jack's too young, plus he's in summer school now."

Cord acknowledged Blair's points. "I can see his reasons. I guess…from what I've been able to tell, you hit a load of rough spots with him."

"When haven't I?"

She was about to continue that sentence when another voice piped up. "Cord, did you get my latte yet?" Tina Lord Roberts asked before stopping short. "Oh, Blair, you're here." The redhead slid up next to her husband and took his arm possessively.

Blair couldn't help roll her eyes. It had been years since she'd had any interest in Cord Roberts. For a minute, Blair was tempted to assure Tina she wasn't after her man, because she had her man back. But she knew, telling Tina was akin to printing it on the front page of _The Banner_ and that could expose the lot of them to too much danger. Instead, Blair merely smiled. "Yes, Tina, I haven't left town, in oh, twenty years." Then, in a staged whisper, she added, "Unlike some."

Tina's eyes hadn't left her until Cord spoke up. "Blair here was just filling me in on the news that with Todd away, she's in charge of his paper."

Tina finally looked at Cord, her expression darkening. "Why would my brother leave it to her? I should get it!"

"He isn't dead, Tina," Blair hissed. _I hope to God he's not_, she thought briefly. "He's on an extended business trip and he wanted to make sure the paper is running smoothly. And the last time I checked, you've never run any business, much less a newspaper!"

"Now, ladies," Cord began.

"You know what, I'm running late. Cord, it was lovely to see you," Blair said, ignoring the other woman. She got a few feet away, when she heard the couple bickering a bit.

Her name was called out after they finished. "Blair." It was, surprisingly, Tina who said her name. "Viki was mentioning at breakfast this morning about seeing if you, Jack and Sam would like to come for dinner tonight. She was going to call to invite you, since you are the mother of her two nephews but, since we ran into you here, I figured I'd ask."

And again, the temptation to spill to Tina. But as before, Blair kept the secret. Turning towards her long-time nemesis, she smiled broadly. "My sons and I would love to have dinner with the Lords of Llanfair." Without another word, she left.

Blair managed to get out of the office early and headed home. She found Jack and Sam were playing video games in the living room. "Get changed, where going over to Llanfair for dinner." Neither of the boys made a word of complaint as they scurried upstairs, but Dorian, who caught the end of the orders, asked, "You are having dinner with Queen Victoria?"

It felt like the only thing Blair had been doing all day was rolling her eyes; first at Tina, now at Dorian. "She is the boys' aunt and she hasn't been spending as much time as she like with them," Blair reasoned.

"And you were invited too?"

"Yes, Dorian, if for no other reason than out of politeness."

"And Viki is nothing, it not polite," she said in a tone dripping with sarcasm. By then, Jack and Sam were back downstairs and Blair corralled them into her car.

They reached the front door of Llanfair and were greeted by Jessica. "Blair, it's great to see you!" the blonde said enthusiastically.

"It's great to see you. I thought you were still in London?" Blair asked.

"Well, from what I heard from Natalie and Matthew, I thought Mom needed us here. Having her grandkids here seems to have lifted her spirits, what with my dad and now, I heard Uncle Todd left town?" she asked.

Before Blair could answer, a male voice called to him. "Oh, I see Sam's here. I'll go up and tell Bree," Brody Lovett said as he headed up the stairs.

Blair turned back to Jessica. "Has something changed?" she asked, a glimmer in her eye.

Jessica smiled back. "After Mom and Dad ran the DNA test on me and it confirmed that I was, in fact, Clint's daughter, I thought I should just check with Ryder. As he's grown, I haven't really seen anything of Bobby in him. I had several tests run and they all agreed. Brody is Ryder's father," she explained. "I tracked him down in Africa last year to tell him and I said I'd stay in London for as long as he was with the SEALS. He got discharged about two weeks ago." At that point, Brody came down behind Bree with Ryder in his arms. "And we're a family now."

Blair gathered Todd's niece in her arms. "I am so happy you were able to get your guy back," she said sincerely.

They parted and Jessica looked at Blair. "I'm sure that somewhere down the line, you'll get yours too." With that, she walked off.

A secretive smile flashed on Blair's face.

Despite the presence of Tina, Blair enjoyed herself. Natalie had arrived late and Liam and Ryder followed Sam and Bree around as the adults ate. Blair and Cord reminisced about their shared past, filling Natalie in on the extent of their relationship. The evening went along smoothly until Cord said, "Tomorrow, the seventy-two hour hold should be off and I'm going to the hospital to see what's going on with Pa."

Blair had been witness to the disagreement Matthew and Natalie had with Viki and Bo right after Clint had been taken out. She looked over and saw that Viki had the expression on her face as he had that night. "Cord, your father…he's changed. I think he had a harder time dealing with Asa's death than any of us wanted to admit. He really is turning into Asa Jr. Look at what he did to Natalie."

Blair decided to try to derail any suspicion anyone at this table may have of her, and why she was there, when she added, "Not that he didn't have some help from Todd."

"Yeah, what went on with that anyway?" Jess asked. "How did Todd find out about John anyway?"

Blair sighed dramatically as she said, "When he was up in Port Charles, I don't know how, but he got his hands on a picture of John kissing another woman. To get even with John, he sent the picture, knowing it would ruin his relationship with Natalie." She turned to the redheaded daughter. "Natalie, I am so sorry that Todd put you and Liam through that."

"Why are you apologizing for what Todd did?" she asked as she made a face.

"Before you got that picture, Todd…Todd asked me to marry him but I reject him. I told him that when John arrested him, we were together and it ruined it for me. Something was broken and I didn't see it ever being fixed. He took it as, us not getting back together was John's fault. So, he found the ammunition and he fired it."

Natalie offered Blair a sympathetic smile. "It's still not your fault."

"Speaking of Uncle Todd, where is he? I know family dinners have never been his thing, but I heard he's out of town," Jessica asked.

"Yes, he is out of town," Tina announced. "And he left Blair in charge of _The Sun_."

If Tina was thinking announcing that to those gathered would turn them against Blair, she was wrong. "Good for you, Blair. But won't you be overloaded between that and Shelter?" Natalie asked.

Blair shook her head, saying with a smile, "No it's in good hands. Cutter and Rama seem to have the place under control. If they need me, they know where to find me." Blair noticed the scowl on Nat's face when she said Cutter's name, but let it slide.

"Well, why don't we move into the living room for coffee?" Viki asked. The family obliged and and were milling about the room from conversation to conversation. Jack, however, was standing by the fireplace, looking at a picture. Viki noticed him and went over. "That's your Aunt Meredith," she explained simply.

"Yeah, I was talking to the man she was married to yesterday," Jack replied.

"You went to talk to Larry?"

Jack nodded. "I've been thinking about…Victor. And I didn't feel comfortable talking about him to you or Aunt Dorian. But I saw the last name Wolek in his obituary and Mom told me she thought Dr. Wolek was a member of this family for a time, so I thought I could ask him about…"

Viki was truly touched by her nephew's care, but she still said, "Jack, I came to grips with what my father did to me a long time ago. So, I don't want to to worry about me if you have any questions."

Jack wasn't sure that was entirely true. But, he had a question he did want an answer to, and it wasn't even about his grandfather. "Does Todd know about…?"

Viki looked around at the family in the living room and then, took Jack's hand, leading him out into the foyer. She closed the doors behind them and turned to Jack. Her manner was stiff and a little far-off. She took a deep breath. "Do you know about your parent's second marriage?"

Jack thought for a minute. He had, of course, seen the picture of his parents dancing in a shower of gold balloons. He was sure he'd heard about the event at some point. But he also thought Viki was dodging the question a bit so he nodded his head.

"The night before, he came here to tell me and Tina and Tina's children that he and your mother were going to be remarried. He wanted us to be there. Tina made several comments and tried to hustle CJ and Sarah up to bed. When they left, I told him I was happy for him. Then he told me that your mother was pregnant and that Blair thought she was going to have a little girl."

"Starr," Jack said.

Viki smiled. "Yes, Starr. He wanted to know what kind of man his father was. He knew how awful Peter Manning had raised him and he knew to not repeat those same mistakes. But he wanted to know about Victor Lord." Viki moved to the staircase and sat on one of the bottom steps. "I told him he didn't want to know those answers. I told him to go, be happy with Blair and not give Victor Lord another thought. But, he kept pushing, and, I snapped." Jack moved next to her, as her voice dropped to a whisper. "One of my alters, Victor, came out. He tried to get Todd to leave, but Todd recognized what was happening and urged me to fight it, to come back. It worked but Todd sensed the depth of the darkness. He asked again and…I told him."

The silenced stretched until Jack asked, "How did he react?"

"He drew a corollary between what was done to me to what he did to Marty. And then he feared he could do the same to his daughter," Viki said at last. "He couldn't handle it. He took off and we almost didn't find him. I was the one to figure out where he'd gone off to."

"Where was that?"

"The family crypt. He was tossing stones at Father's tomb," Viki explained. "He told me that the wedding wasn't going to happen, that he wouldn't carry on the family curse. I told him there was none and that he shouldn't fear being happy." Viki looked up at Jack. "That has been his biggest fear since he married your mother. Even everything that happened when she was pregnant with you, it was the fear of being happy."

Jack was still thinking about that when they got home that night. Sam was asleep and Blair was working at her computer when Jack came down. "What do you think Todd's biggest fear is?" he asked her.

Blair turned to look at him. "Where did that question come from?"

Jack sat on the chair nearest the desk. "It was something Aunt Viki said to me tonight. But I want to ask you. What does he fears the most?"

Blair pondered the question, sifting through her memories. All the times they tried to get to a place of peace and all the times it had been denied to them, up to and including the present. She saw the answer and it saddened her. "He fears he'll never be happy." Blair looked down of a minute, then continued. "I've lost count at the number of times we were happy and something happened to snatch it away from us. "We were young, rich and about to be parents, and I get mugged. We decide to try for another child and Todd learned about my lies. We get married again, are expecting again, and he's presumed dead. He learns I'm pregnant again and I lie to him about who the father is. We're together after terrible years apart and he's arrested. I come to see him and he proposes and I reject him." Then she looked at Jack. "I was afraid, a few weeks ago, that I'd lose him again. He said I won't, and it happened again." Tears fell down her cheeks and Jack opened his arms to her.

He held her for a few minutes until she calmed down. "That's what Aunt Viki said. That he's afraid to try and be happy, that he'll never get it." When Blair pulled away, Jack said, "I'm ready for that letter now, I think."

Blair nodded and went into her attaché case. She handed it to Jack and he wished her a good night. Sitting at his desk, he opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.

It was all computer commands. IP addresses, firewall setting, all complex and, as the note said, hopefully impenetrable. Jack was good with computers and although it took him a while, he was able to follow the instructions. A window popped up and Todd's face appeared on the screen. A soft smile radiated off his face. "Jack, I'm…I didn't expect to hear from you at all, much less this soon."

"I'm still not sure about you," Jack stated.

"Not surprising. But you're willing to listen. That already make you a better man than I am," Todd admitted.

"Well, we have a family to protect. So, let's figure out how we can do that," he replied.

At that moment, Todd was never prouder of his son.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

August, 2013

Jack sat back. "Isn't this dangerous? They said no contact," he asked.

"I've never been one to play by the rules," Todd said. He shrugged his shoulders as he continued. "I made sure I set up enough firewalls and rerouted this connection through enough addresses to get it lost somewhere in outer Mongolia. Kid, you're talking to a guy who shut down the power in Llanview to give your mother the perfect fireworks display." Jack noticed Todd's face soften. "All the same, let's make this quick. What's been happening since I left?"

"Well, Clint Buchanan had a meltdown at that dinner that was supposed to be for him," Jack began.

"Supposed to be? What happened?"

"He slugged the bouncer outside of Shelter when he was drunk, got arrested by Bo who got the award because they took the award away from Clint for his display. Then he crashed the dinner in a drunken rage and is in the psych ward at the hospital now."

"And I missed all the fun," Todd grumbled.

"Here's the weird thing though," his son continued. "Natalie told Mom, me and Aunt Viki that she wasn't allowed to see him after it happened. But I ran into Matthew Buchanan, who went to the hospital with her and he told me that when he left her there, she had just been taken to see her father."

"So, Natalie's a ditz. Maybe Clint was so bad, she wanted to spare my sister," Todd replied, but it was gnawing at him. Natalie was the furthest thing from a ditz.

Jack gave him an exasperated look, as if he knew what Todd had just thought. "That sounds more like the other redhead in this family who, by the way, is back in town."

"Why the hell is Tina there?"

"Cord is taking over at BE while Clint's in the looney bin, so she came with him. We all had dinner over at Llanfair tonight, along with Jessica and the Navy SEAL," Jack told him. "Who, it turns out, is Ryder's father."

"Well, I'm happy for Jessica with that. Considering what I heard about that Ford brother and what he basically did to her when she wasn't all there." Todd tapped his forehead. "How are she and Natalie getting along? Since all the daddy questions have been cleared up?"

"They seemed fine. But I think you may still be in the doghouse with the family, including Mom, for sending that picture."

Todd actually looked a bit guilt-ridden. "Well, in my defense, I was in a bad place mentally." But then he changed the subject. "So, we have a soldier in the family and back in town?" Todd sat back, gathering his thoughts. "Look, if and only if, everything goes to hell, go to Brody. He seems to have some sense of honor and a willingness to protect those he cares about." Then he sighed, adding, "And Cord. With the history between him and your mother, he'll help her if she needs it. But only if all other options are off the table."

Jack noticed Todd look away from the camera. "Look, we should get off of this connection. Don't want to chance anything. But, if you need me, I'll have this connection on. Just follow the directions like you just did and you'll be able to reach me."

"Where are you?" Jack asked.

"You know I can't answer that, Jack," Todd said, regretfully. "Anyway, how is your mother?"

"She misses you. I came home and found her crying about you. I thought…I thought you hurt her again. I kinda yelled at her about being with you, that it only brings her pain," Jack said.

"That's what true love is, kid. It's nothing but pain. But it's a pain I, and your mother, are willing to endure," Todd said at last. "Give her a kiss for me. And be wary, always." With that, the connection was broken.

Jack sat back, thinking over what Todd had said. He knew Todd had an innate distrust of most people, the majority of them living in Llanview. He also wondered what he meant by the comment about his mother's history with Cord. The next morning he found Blair alone downstairs and decided to ask her. "So last night, I noticed you were talking to Cord about the past. What happened back then?"

Blair looked up. She had been expecting something along these lines since they'd gotten home. "Before your father and I got together," Blair said, "I was dating Cord Roberts."

"Wasn't he married to Tina?" Jack questioned.

"No, they were divorced at the time and I guess you could say I was one the rebound from Max," Blair continued, settling in to tell the story. "Cord was the type of guy I thought I should be with…handsome, rich, connected. Max had gone back to his wife, and I was sort of friends with the town pariah, but Cord, he was the proverbial white knight."

"What happened?"

"He was always rushing off to help his ex-wife. She was trying to lure him back and he often used their kids as an excuse, so I was often left alone." Blair mind went to a Christmas Eve when that had happened. "And, quite often, when it did happen, the town pariah kind of showed up, even if I didn't want him there at the moment."

"And you and Todd hooked up?" Jack didn't really want to know the answer to that question, but it fell out of his mouth.

"Yeah, we did. Then, a few months later, when Todd had the ankle monitor removed, he wanted to put Llanview in his rearview mirror. Before he left, I had him sign a note, promising to come back to visit me. He did and a short time later, Cord called again, apologizing for not being here, but saying he got a lead on Victor Lord's heir. He found out the name of the mother, that it was Irene Manning. And I looked at the note, signed by Todd Manning and it sort of clicked."

"And then you went to lie to him that you were pregnant," Jack surmised at last.

"That wasn't my intention. Before I could find him, I was told St. Ann's needed money for Momma's care and I couldn't find Dorian at the time. So, out of desperation, I lied to him and we got married. And I also held back the truth about who he was. It was actually Tina's big mouth that informed him. And by the time I was challenged about being pregnant, I actually was," Blair said, her voice growing heavy with sorry for her lost son.

Jack got up and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. She returned to him a suspicious gaze. He shrugged his shoulders. "What, a son can't kiss his mom?" Then, before he got to the door, he asked, "I'm going over to see Larry Wolek. You want to come? He said he'd tell me more about Aunt Meredith."

Blair was touched by the offer, but she turned it down. Jack headed to the hospital and found Larry at his desk going through a book. "Jack, glad you stopped by. Come it," he said. Jack merely nodded as he stepped in. He noticed then that the book was a photo album. "I thought you might like to see some pictures of your Aunt Merrie." He pointed to one snapshot. "Here's our wedding day."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Victor looks a little…stiff," he commented.

"As I said, he didn't approve of the match," Larry reminded him.

Turning the page, there was a shot of Aunt Viki and her sister, also from the wedding. Jack looked at the picture, commenting, "They look so different. I mean, Aunt Viki is blond and all, and Aunt Merrie actually looks like Natalie, with the red hair and all."

Larry smiled. "It's funny, but when I see Jessica and Natalie together, that the same thought I have." Going to another page, Jack saw a picture of Larry and Merrie holding a baby. "That's our son, Daniel."

"He's your only child?" Jack asked. He wanted to get all his cousins straight at last.

"Yes. He had a twin sister, but she was stillborn," Larry answered with a heavy voice. "It was very hard on both of us. We had to call in a doctor for Merrie."

"Someone should have called in a doctor for Tea," Jack commented. "I mean, not only having your baby die, but also to not be told about it till months later." A hard edge undercut his words. "Did they say…|?"

"Respiratory issues," his uncle answered. "Her lungs were underdeveloped."

Jack remembered his mother telling him about Victor's son. It was lung issues that caused him to die. "Have you spoken to Tea about your daughter? I mean, because of the weird way Victor was raised, I don't think the doctors had a lot of medical history on him and I know after everything that happened, Tea was looking for answers. It may have been something that, if they knew about your daughter…" Jack figured it was a long shot, but he thought it could help bring peace to Tea if she knew some family history.

Larry smiled. He was kind of surprised by Todd's son. "I think I might. That's a nice idea, Jack," Larry complimented. Before he could go on, though, there was a knock at the door and Cord Roberts stuck his head in.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you were with someone," Cord said.

"No, it's okay. I think Jack and I are done here," Larry replied. "What can I do for you?"

Cord looked towards Jack and he got the message. "Maybe I can stop by again and you can tell me more about my aunt," he said as he walked out the door. He didn't go very far, as he stopped and eavesdropped on the conversation on the other side.

"Maybe you can help me out. I know the seventy-two hour hold is over for Clint, but they are still refusing to let me see him. Is there anything you can do?" Cord asked.

"I'm no longer Chief of Staff here, Cord. I don't know what I can do," the doctor admitted.

"Can you get his medical records, at least? You're still his doctor, aren't you?"

"I can ask. Say I need to see it for his medical files," Dr. Wolek admitted. "Also, I can make sure they're giving him his heart medication."

"Anything you can do." Jack didn't hear anything after that, as he realized the conversation was coming to an end and he didn't want to be caught listening in. He headed towards the exit when he remembered observing the security office the last time he'd been there. Thinking quickly, he made it look like he stumbled a bit and dropped his cellphone, aiming it for inside the office.

The security guard heard him and got up. Jack got up, as the man reached for the phone. "You drop this?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm a bit of a klutz," he said as he went to the door of the office. He stood there for a minute and took a quick look around. He then shook himself out of his staring when the guard nudged the phone at him. "Oh, sorry," Jack said, taking it back. The guard just gave him a look then sat back down.

But Jack had taken enough of the room in to see how the CCTV was connected. He headed home and opened his computer immediately. A few keystrokes and he was into the hospital network. He shut the connection down quickly, deciding to poke around later. But he knew what his next mission was.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

August, 2013

Dinner that night had been pizza, if for no other reason than Dorian had a dinner date with Carl. After inhaling nearly half a pie, Jack went into his room and made the connection back to the Llanview Hospital network. He laughed at how simplistic the system was. All he needed was the date and the wing and he was able to begin his search.

Looking up the night of August 11th, he stumbled, first, on the feed from the waiting room. As Matthew had said, he was there with Natalie and another girl he had learned from Dani was his girlfriend, Michelle. Jack then saw Natalie get into it with an officious-looking man which was, again, matching what was told to him. Matthew left and Natalie was taken away with the hospital employee.

Jack then looked up the floor that the psych ward was in and found the corresponding feed. Natalie was still with the man. He saw his cousin walking into a room and her back stiffen. Jack squinted, trying to see her face, but it did no good. Natalie's back was to the camera and it made it impossible to see her face.

But then, the video changed angles. Jack hoped it would give him a frontal view of the redhead, but it seemed to be aimed in a totally different direction. Jack played around for a while longer, but he couldn't find a shot of Natalie in her father's room. After a while, he noticed her being led out of the hospital.

Had Todd been right? Could she had seen Clint and just tried to spare her mother from whatever bad shape he'd been in? He saved the footage and was just about to shut down the link when he caught half a face on the screen. The image was blurry and black and white, but he thought he knew the face. He made a screencap of it and shut the computer down.

The next morning, he arrived in his mother's office at _The Sun_. She was finishing up the morning editorial meeting and he stood in the back listening to her. He'd never seen his mother take charge on such a large scale and, in a business he had never known her to be in. He was impressed, nonetheless, with the way she delegated orders and was obeyed.

Once everyone had filed out, she gave him a warm smile. "Come to help your mother out here?" she asked.

"You seemed to have everything well under control," he answered, impressed by the display.

He went back to the door and locked it. Blair knew something was up, as he clearly didn't want anyone to disturb them. "You got something for me?" she asked.

Jack took a deep breath. "Yes, but you're not gonna like how I got it."

Blair steeled herself. But then she reminded herself, he was Todd's son. She had issues with a lot of how Todd did things, but more often than not let them slide. "What did you find out?"

Jack opened his computer to the footage he had saved last night. Blair watched as Natalie was led from the waiting room to the hallway outside Clint's room. She saw the younger woman stiffen when she entered the room. But, after that, there was nothing. "Well, we know Matthew was telling the truth. But why wouldn't Natalie say anything?"

"Well, maybe…didn't you say that Aunt Viki was opposed to Natalie going to the hospital in the first place? Maybe she didn't want to tell Aunt Viki how bad he really was," Jack offered, relaying Todd's thought from the previous night. "And there's one other thing too." He brought the screen shot up as well. "The image is fuzzy, but I think I recognize-"

"Oh my God!" Blair gasped. She would know that face, even the little she could distinguish of it. "This is not good."

"You recognize her?" Jack asked.

Blair nodded vigorously. "That's Allison Perkins," she said, pointing to the screen. She put her hand to her forehead. Her first instinct was to call Bo, Todd's warnings be damned. Then, as if remembering her son's warnings, she turned to him. "How did you get all this?"

Jack's face flushed with guilt. He knew he'd probably be in a lot of trouble for his methods. "I hacked the hospital's security cameras," he admitted sheepishly.

Blair's face was unreadable for a minute, but then broke into a wide smile. "You really are taking after your father, you know that? Breaking through security systems all over town. Remind me to tell you about the night the lights went out in Llanview for a fireworks show." She gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. Jack eased up, surprised that no lecture was going to be hitting him. "We'll have a talk about that later," his mother told him, "but not right now." She looked back at the screen. "Now, we have to figure a way for Bo to find it on his own."

They brainstormed for a while about how to lead the LPD to the video without incriminating themselves, but could come up with anything. Then, Jack had an idea. "What if we don't bring it to Bozo directly? What if we have someone else bring it to his attention? Someone he trusts more than either of us." Before his mother could answer, he was out the door.

As luck would have it, his cousins Natalie and Jessica were relaxing outside the coffee shop together without their kids. This could work out better than he thought. He strolled over to the table. "Hey Nat, Jess."

The twins seemed surprised to see him, by their initial reactions. But while Natalie remained a bit suspicious, Jessica offered him a warm smile. "Hi Jack," she said, as always the epitome of politeness. She was definitely more a Lord.

"How's your Dad doing?" Jack asked, at least showing concern.

"Cord's still trying to get in to see him, but the doctors are telling him that Dad's under heavy sedation. They're trying to find the cause," Jessica answered.

Before Jack could ask anything else, another voice joined the conversation. "Beyond the fact that Viki broke his heart when she ended the engagement?" Matthew Buchanan chimed in. When the two women flashed their other cousin dangerous looks, Matthew returned a contrite look. "Sorry, but Uncle Clint was real generous to her to help her save _The Banner_. I still don't see what the problem is."

"The problem, Matthew, is that he did it in an underhanded way. If he'd been honest with Mom, she wouldn't have broken up with him," Natalie retorted.

Matthew threw his hands up in defeat and maneuvered around the table to head to the shop door. Jack saw his opportunity and went for it. "Matthew, didn't you tell me when you left the hospital that night, Natalie had been taken down to see Clint?"

Matthew turned around and narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I did. Why do you ask?"

Natalie shook her head at her cousin's response. "No, I never went down to see Dad. Remember, they wouldn't let me. You and your date took me home."

Now it was Matthew who looked confused. "Nat, you were ready to tear the place apart to see Uncle Clint. They tried to tell you it wasn't possible, but you made them. I left with Michelle, but you were taken by the administrator to see him."

Jessica looked between her sister and her cousin. "Are you sure, Matthew?"

Matthew rolled his eyes at the two. "Does it sound out of character that Natalie would be so…forceful?" Then he looked at Natalie, who had a faraway look in her eyes.

Jack watched the back and forth, secretly pleased with himself, but at the same time growing concerned. He hoped he hadn't loosened a screw in Natalie's head.

Jessica noticed how quiet her sister had gotten. "Nat?" she asked. When there was no response, Jessica repeated in a louder voice, "Natalie, are you alright?"

Finally, the redhead reacted. "I…uh…" came the unintelligible answer. Jack could almost see her brain straining for the memories. Then she blinked twice. "I…am…remembering…" Her eyes closed for a short time then flew open. "Oh my God!" She gasped for breath. "I remember being led down and I remember going in. Dad was restrained to the bed and then…"

"What happened next?" Jessica asked.

"I don't, I don't remember," Natalie responded. "It's a blank."

"But something had to happen, right?" Jack asked, hoping it was enough to make her go to Bo.

She turned to Jack. "I don't know, but I am missing time. It's like, I go from the hospital to my apartment, but I have no idea how I got there." She grabbed her things. "I need to find some answers."

"I'll go with you," Jessica said, getting up from the table.

"Me too," Matthew added.

Even though he hadn't been asked, Jack tagged along and they all headed to the police station. When they got to Bo Buchanan's door, they heard voices shouting. One of them was, uncharacteristically, Cord Roberts.

"Then why is your signature on the commitment papers for St. Ann's, Bo?" Cord asked.

"I have no idea, but I haven't even been to the hospital to see him," Bo answered, a note of regret in his voice.

At that point, the younger generation crashed through the door. "You had dad committed?" Natalie called out, her purpose for being there forgotten.

Bo turned and saw his son, nieces and Jack standing there. He rolled his eyes at them. "I just told Cord, I didn't sign any papers, for anything, regarding Clint!"

Jessica snatched the papers from her uncle and Natalie looked over her sister's shoulder at them. "I've seen your signature enough times, Bo and that's it."

At that, Jack walked over and studied the autograph. Jessica had flipped through the numerous pages and each time, Jack's eyes went to the "BO BUCHANAN" at the appropriate place. The Buchanan kids were arguing back and forth with Bo so much, no one noticed Jack slip the document out of Jessica's hand. He flipped back and forth, examining each signature. Then, he noticed it. "Hey, Bo," he piped up. No one heard him. "Commissioner?" he tried again. Still, he couldn't be heard. Taking a deep breath, he yelled, "Hey Bozo!"

The room fell silent and everyone turned to him. The police commissioner went red in the face with anger, but Jack didn't let it affect him. "What are you doing here, Manning?"

Jack ignored the question. He grabbed a pad on the desk and handed it to him. "Sign your name," he told the older man. When Buchanan didn't take it, Jack pressed again, politer this time. "Just trust me, please."

Jack knew that was the last thing this man would do, but Bo took the pad and signed his name. Jack looked at it and said, "Do it again." Bo's eyes narrowed but he repeated the action. When he was done, Jack made the request one last time. When it was done, he then said, "Look at them."

Matthew craned his neck. "So, it's three signatures. So what?"

It was Natalie who caught it. "But they're all slightly different." She spun around and grabbed the papers from Jack's hand. "And all of these," she point out examples on three different pages, "are all the same. Exactly so, down to the last detail."

"And that's impossible, unless it's manufactured somehow," Jack added.

Natalie flashed him a smile. "The Mannings are two and oh right now against the Buchanans," she said. "With the right equipment, manufacturing this is easy."

"And with you being a very public figure who probably signs hundreds of papers a day, easy to obtain and copy with a computer," Jessica added.

"But who would want to make it look like Uncle Bo agreed to this in the first place?" Natalie wondered aloud.

Bo was brought out of his stunned state to finally really notice everyone in his office. "Why are you here anyway?"

Natalie blinked but didn't answer. It was Matthew who spoke up. "Natalie said that she never was taken down to see Uncle Clint, but I remembered she was and now she realizes that she's missing time from that night."

"Yeah, she told Mom and me and Aunt Viki that, but Matthew told me differently and now, she too is remembering differently," Jack added.

Natalie spent the next half hour going over everything from the night of the Man of the Year dinner. When she was finished, Bo said, "I'm going to get in touch with the hospital. I want to examine the security tapes, see if this can be backed up. Something's going on there, between your faulty memory and now, my phantom signatures. "

Jack smiled, pleased with the turn in events. He looked at it watch. Time to makes his excuses and leave. He'd set them on a solid path, one he hoped would lead them to discover Allison Perkins. "If you don't need anything else, Commissioner, I need to get home."

Bo grunted a response, but Jessica and Natalie, both with smiles on their faces, said their thanks. He wanted to return the smile, but because he was unaccustomed to being praised for doing something right, he barely nodded his head in acknowledgement as he slipped out and headed home.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

August, 2013

Blair was just about to pack up for the night when the door to her office opened and Dorian sauntered in. "Well, this is an interesting change of scenery for you, darling," she cooed.

"Dorian, what are you doing here?" Blair asked, a little stunned by her aunt's entrance.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"

Blair rested her fist on her hip. "What are you trying to say?" Blair returned, trying to stall while she came up with a reasonable excuse.

"Well, I went to Shelter for dinner with Carl and I was rather surprised when Cutter told me you had decided to take a more hands-off approach to the club you've been working night and day to get off the ground and come here and run this place while that reprobate ex-husband of yours is away on business," Dorian commented with contempt.

"Why shouldn't I care about this place? It is my children's legacy. I should care that it's maintained in some way for them while their father is away," Blair replied, steeled by Dorian's attitude.

"But must you be actually here to do it?" Dorian questioned. "Darling, I'm just worried that, by being here, when he gets back, he will ensnare you again." She walked over to Blair and put her hands on Blair's arms. "He's a drug you have successfully purged from your system. You need to stay clean, and being here won't do you any good."

"A drug, Dorian, really? Yes, let's look at the list of men I tried to replace Todd with," Blair huffed, stepping back from Dorian. That thought actually made her shutter. "On second thought, let's not." She walked to the door and held it open. "I'm leaving for the evening. Do you want to be locked in this office overnight?"

Dorian sashayed passed her. "This conversation is not finished," she told her niece, as she exited.

Blair walked down to the parking garage and got in her car. She knew that if she went back to La Boulaie, Dorian would continue to drop comments and Blair wasn't up to it. A part of her wanted to shut her aunt up with her secret, but Todd's request for not telling Dorian and Viki's insistence on being the one to inform Dorian stopped her. What Blair needed was a place to hide from Dorian, if only for a few hours. That left few places in Llanview. She thought of Todd's room at The Palace, but she was sure the room had been checked into by someone else. She was very tempted to run to Viki and commiserate with her. If anyone understood Dorian's bitchy tendencies, it was her.

In the end, she found herself at Rodi's. She walked in and was taken back for a minute to a time when the bar was darker and more of a dive. She sat at the bar and half expected a long-haired rogue to plop down next to her.

"What'll it be?" the bartender asked.

Blair paused for a minute before responding, "Single malt scotch, neat." The drink appeared before her and she raised her glass in silent toast.

The bartender noticed and asked her, "Who you toasting?"

It was then that Blair finally got a good look at her. Her eyes narrowed and then widened suddenly. "Jonesy?"

"Yeah, that's my name," the older woman answered. "We know each other?"

"I was fairly a regular here, back in the Nineties. I don't know if you'd remember, but I borrowed a tray and went sledding with Todd Manning," Blair reminded her.

Jonesy nodded. "Yeah, I remember you." She gave Blair an appraising look. "The years've been good to you."

"Thank you," Blair replied. "You just returned to town?"

Jonesy nodded. "Yeah, thought I'd move on a long time ago. But, well, I decided to come back. Found out this place needed a bartender. When I walked in, I was shocked at how different it looked. But, it's a job." As she worked, she asked Blair, "Whatever happened to that scoundrel you hung with? Didn't he find out he was related to the muckety mucks in town?"

"Todd Manning, son of Victor Lord," Blair said. "I married him," she held up three fingers, "three times."

"True love or glutton for punishment?"

Blair laughed a bit. "My aunt Dorian says he's a drug I need to purge from my body. And maybe he is. But he is the best drug." Blair pulled out her cell phone and flipped past the picture from the judge's chamber. "We have two kids, Starr and Jack." Then, as if processing something the other woman had said, she commented, "You're right, this place has changed."

"Lost its character, if you ask me. It's too…warm. The old place, it had character," Jonesy commented.

"It was a place you could hide away if you wanted to. If you didn't want to be found, you came to Rodi's," Blair explained. Just like one night. One night when a heartbroken young woman shared drinks with a guy who had his heart had also been stomped on. Who would have thought where she'd be now back then.

She was brought out of her thoughts by her phone ringing. She looked at the caller ID and answered it. "Jack, hey…I'm at Rodi's…Sorry, I had a run in with Dorian…Okay, I'll wait for you. See you in a bit."

It was only about fifteen minutes later that Jack came in. Blair had moved to a corner table for some privacy. "What happened?" she asked when he sat down."

Jack went into detail about what had gone down at the police station. "So Bo's going to be looking at the video."

"Well, it's not much but it may give them a lead," Blair said as she sat back.

"Why'd you detour here?" Jack asked as he looked around.

Blair let out a sigh. "Dorian showed up at _The Sun_ and made disparaging comments about me working there. I couldn't take continuing the discussion so I figured I'd lay low and hope she forgets about it before I get home." Then, Blair pointed to the bar. "See that woman there?" Jack turned and nodded. "She worked here years ago. So far back, it was before your dad and I got married."

Jack looked around. He knew that Rodi's was a long time hangout, but the idea of either of his parents coming here was weird to him. "This doesn't seem the type of place you or Todd would come to. Too…bright."

"Well, back then, it was very different. Quite frankly, it was a dive." Blair pointed to the bar. "And I met your daddy right over there."

Jack thought for a minute. "You wanted to me to remind you about something about fireworks?"

Blair laughed and launched into the story about setting up Skye for shooting Max and Todd's little celebratory show afterwards. "The whole town was blacked out. It was beautiful display, like the Fourth of July in the winter. We watched from the windows in the penthouse." At the memory, Blair had a thought. "In the morning, I'm going to go look for another place."

Jack turned to her. "Why?"

"Well, I get a feeling things are going to get uncomfortable around La Boulaie now that Dorian knows I'm at _The Sun_. And another, when Todd comes back, can you picture him under the same roof with Dorian?" Blair asked, giving her son a look.

"Why would Todd be under the same roof as Dorian?" another voice asked. Blair looked up and saw David Vickers standing there.

"David!" Blair exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Meeting with Jo. Strategy session for the 'Anatomy of a Divorce'," he answered. "You didn't answer my question. Why would Todd even go to La Boulaie? I mean, besides the obvious."

"Well, I live there," Jack said.

Just then, the woman who came to the dinner with David a few nights ago showed up. "Hello David," Jo said. Then she noticed Blair and Jack. "And believe I met you," she pointed towards Blair, "but not you," she said to Jack.

"Ah, this is my soon-to-be ex-niece, Blair and her son Jack. They're not important for the show though," David said dismissively.

"Wait, Blair, I remember hearing that name," Jos said as she tapped her chin. "Yes, I remember. I was reviewing what you'd already filmed with Leo and you were talking to a man at the bar at Shelter. Handsome in an untraditional way, kind of a far off look, lamenting about a woman he'd hurt. I think he said her name was Blair."

David had the deer in the headlights look about him when Blair said, "Todd talked about me…to David?"

"Oh, yes," the producer answered. She pulled out her tablet and brought up the footage. Blair was amused when Todd was yanking David's chain with the 'four question' method. But then, when David asked Todd about Blair, she was surprised by his answer.

"_All I can seem to do is break her heart."_

She remembered that night. She'd laid into him again when David had left. She couldn't help but touch the image on the screen.

David narrowed his eyes at Blair's reaction. "Jo, can you excuse me. I need to have a conversation with my niece." Jo took the tablet back and went to the other side of the bar. "Blair, are you and Todd – "

"I caught them together," Jack interrupted.

"Eww," David came out with. "You went back to him? Does Dorian know?" Then, his eyes brightened and his smile widened. "Can I tell her?"

"David, look, they're…not together, so there's nothing to tell Dorian," Jack said, a note of desperation in his voice.

"Sure, kid, they're not together," David replied with the wink of an eye. He looked at Jo. "Well, I need to get back to my meeting. Buh-bye."

Jack turned back to his mother, who offered him a weak smile. "Thanks for the save."

"I hope it holds. David's not a dumb as he looks," Jack commented.

"Oh, I don't know about that. He still hasn't figured out who Madeleine Helmore was," Blair commented as she looked towards David's table.

"Madeleine…"

With a smirk, Blair said, "Halloween, just before Todd and I got remarried at St. James'. Dorian needed to have him caught _in flagrante delicto_ for a divorce, so we set up a sting to catch him." Blair waved him off. "Look, I am serious about finding a new place you all of us. I'm going to start looking tomorrow. I want it all set up for when your father comes back. I want a home for all of us."


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

August, 2013

In a continual attempt to avoid Dorian, Blair decided to take the boys out for breakfast. She roused them out of bed and made sure they were dressed. When they all came down the stairs, Blair opened the door to find Bo Buchanan about to knock. "Morning, Blair," he said with a tired voice. "I need to have a talk with Jack…down at the station."

"Is Jack in trouble again?" Sam asked.

Jack looked to his mother with wide eyes. "It's okay Sam," he said.

"What is going on?" Dorian asked as she saw the group at the door.

"Nothing, Dorian. Can you see that Sam has his breakfast?" Blair asked. Sam headed into the kitchen and Dorian followed but not before giving her niece a look.

A little while later, Blair and Jack were sitting across from Bo in his office. "So, Jack, can you tell me your interest in my brother?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "He's my cousins' father and I know how upset Aunt Viki is about him."

"Because, after you left yesterday, Matthew and Natalie told me it was you who mentioned the discrepancies in their memories from the night of the dinner, about what happened at the hospital."

Again, Jack shrugged. Blair, doing her best dumb act, asked Bo, "What's this have to do with my son?"

"Well, we did go take a look at the security feed from the hospital from that night. I had the tech guys run all kind of traces on it and guess what they found?" When Jack didn't answer, Bo provided one. "They found a line that hacked into their system. And guess whose IP address that line was connected to? Yours."

Internally, Jack winced, but he tried to maintain a neutral expression in front of the police commissioner. It was Blair who feigned shock. "Jack? Why would he want to break into the hospital's security network?"

"I don't know. Why don't you tell us, Jack?" Bo asked again.

Jack knew he was at a critical juncture. He could try and lie his way out of this, but that could lead to bigger trouble. He hated to admit it, but maybe coming clean would be best. Taking a deep breath, he said, "In the words of my Aunt Dorian, honesty is the best policy. Yes, I hacked the hospital."

Blair's shocked expression melted away into genuine shock. It was the first time she'd heard a Manning man admit to a crime to the police. She looked to Bo and noticed he had a similar look.

"Okay, Jack, can you tell me why you did it? If you had concerns, you should have come to me and I could investigate it," Bo told him.

"And you would have believed me? Come on, when was the last time you believed anything coming from my family?" Jack asked, perturbed. "Shall we go through the list, or just cut to the last person who had a crime committed on them that you didn't believe? My father was nearly strangled and you thought he set it up. What was it Natalie said last night, Manning two, Buchanan zero?"

Blair beamed with pride, not just on Bo getting called out, but by the fact that Jack referred to Todd as his father.

For his part, Bo looked contrite. "Well, you got me there," he admitted. "Alright, start from the beginning. Why did you go looking into the security videos?"

"Wait a second, Jack," Blair interrupted. "Are there going to be any charges brought against my son? He has fifth amendment rights."

"If it's a plausible reason, than no, no charges will be filed." Bo fixed Jack with a hard expression.

Jack took a deep breath and explained how he'd had conversations with Matthew and Natalie and how their stories hadn't matched up. He did a little digging and figured his way into the security feeds. That gave him the proof he needed. "Then, it wasn't very difficult to get them talking once they were together. When Natalie remembered she didn't remember anything after being taken down to see her dad, we all came to you."

"Why even go look into this?" Bo asked, slightly baffled. He'd never known Jack Manning to be very close to his cousins.

"Todd…my dad, when he left, he was a little worried. He thinks Dani's OD wasn't an accident and someone took a shot at my mother. He's a little paranoid and, I guess, it's affecting me."

Bo heaved another sigh. "Well, about Dani…he was right. I looked at the pills Matthew grabbed off her, on a tip from Todd and they were four times stronger than the normal dose. And, on top of that, the woman who sold them to her was found dead in her room at the Palace. Todd, it seems, has a right to be paranoid."

Jack flashed a look to Blair but she subtly shook her head. "Is there anything else you need from Jack?"

"Yes, I want to see your computer, Jack, to check those links into the network," Bo said.

Blair answered for him. "I'll see that he brings it here this afternoon." Blair turned to the door but as she moved to open it, Tea burst in. "Bo, I want to report a kidnapping!"

"Hold on, Tea, who's been kidnapped?"

"It's Daniella. I haven't heard from her since the night of the dinner. I know she let with that man, that Arturo Bandini. You have to find her, Bo!" Tea yelled.

"Tea, are you sure she's been kidnapped?" Blair asked, her voice cautious.

Tea turned and at last realized that Blair and Jack were standing there. "I know she's with him. Matthew says she hasn't been back to the apartment since that night." Tea was nearly hyperventilating by now. "He's probably hooked her back on drugs!"

"Okay, slow down, Tea," Bo repeated, trying to rein the other woman in. "Look, Blair, take Jack home and bring back that computer."

Blair nodded and the two left. Since they hadn't had anything to eat, they stopped at the coffee shop, where they were surprised to see Dani with the man Tea had accused of kidnapping her. They went over to the table. "Dani, your mother is worried about you. She says she hasn't spoken to you in days, that you haven't been home for a while," Blair chastised the young woman. "She's at the LPD right now filing a missing person's report."

Dani looked up, her eyes widening and the rolling into the back of her head. "She really thinks I've been kidnapped?" she said. "She's going off the wall!" Then she turned to her friend. "Look, I'm going to apologize in advance if you get into trouble. She can't handle me having someone in my life while Victor's gone."

"No worries, bella," Arturo said. "I am sorry, where are my manners? I am Arturo Bandini, a, ah, friend of Daniella's."

Blair didn't pay much mind to Arturo other than shake his hand. Her attention was completely on Dani. "Well Dani, I don't blame her. In her situation, I'd be worried sick myself. I think you better call her or at least Bo and clear this up," Blair retorted, again, surprised by her tone.

"Dani, look, I have to go back down to the police station. Why don't I take you there," Jack said as he observed the interactions.

"No Jack, I'll just call Bo," Dani replied.

Jack grabbed her by the arm. "I think it would be better," he insisted, "if you come with me." Dani yelped in protest but at last acquiesced. "Mom, I'll drop you off at _The Sun_ first. Then I'll head home and bring the laptop and my sister to the station." He put the emphasis on the last part, to gauge the reaction of the other man.

As they left, Dani assured Arturo that she'd call when she got done. Jack looked back and didn't like the look on the man's face. Something about him just didn't sit well with Jack at all.

Blair was dropped off at the Manning Building and Jack pointed the car in the direction of La Boulaie. After a few minutes of silence, Jack began. "Your mother was really upset. She was practically having a panic attack."

"Well, she tends to do that when she can't handle things," Dani replied as she stared out the window.

"Okay, let's not look at this from her perspective. Let's think about how Dad and Victor would react to it. Arturo's, what, in his early to mid-forties?" Jack guess.

"'Dad and Victor'? When did you start to refer to Todd as Dad?" Dani asked snidely.

"When did you start to refer to Dad as Victor?" Jack retorted. "Putting that aside, let's think for a minute. You're seeing a guy who's their age. How do you think they'll react to that?"

"If they ever come back," Dani commented.

"Let's face it, we'll never be rid of them," Jack said. "Seriously, if they find out, what Victor did to Cole with pale in comparison to what he'll do to Arturo. And he'll have help from Todd." By then, Jack had pulled up in the driveway at home. He sprinted into the house, grabbed the computer and got back to the car. They arrived at the police station, where Tea nearly tackled Dani when she saw her. Dani went limp while Tea was in tears.

Dani disentangled herself from her mother and turned to Bo. "You can drop any kidnapping charges my mother wanted you to bring. Yes, I've been with Arturo but he didn't kidnap me." She threw her mother a cold stare.

Tea's face grew red, probably from embarrassment, probably from anger as she began yelling at Dani in two languages. Bo tried to calm them down but they mercifully walked out together, still in the throes of the argument.

Bo just shook his head and turned to Jack. "That the computer?"

Jack nodded and handed it over reluctantly. Bo gave it to a detective and led Jack into his office to wait. Pouring him a cup of coffee, Bo began, "You seem to have opened up to Todd. Not long ago, you thought he was faking being nearly strangled. What changed?"

Jack may have actually been honest with Bo on any criminal acts but there was no way he'd be honest about anything else. He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I guess it's just my mom getting to me."

"Your mom?" Bo asked, almost friendly.

"I had a confrontation with him and she was coming in on it getting dressed." He stuck out his tongue trying to say without words what he'd caught the end of. "I was furious and let loose on them. But she sat me down later and told me he was her soulmate. Not that I believe that crap, but then, I saw her crying over him gone and, I guess it started to get to me."

"Well, Todd and Blair have been through a lot, that I can tell you," Bo began as there was a knock on the door. "Commissioner?" the detective asked, as he signaled to Bo. Bo got up and stepped outside. After a few minutes, Bo and the detective came in. "Okay, we found and disconnected the link you set up to the hospital. You have any suspicions, come to me. Don't take after Todd and think you can solve them on your own. It never works out well."

"Yes, Commissioner," Jack replied.

"Also, my detective here found some pretty sophisticated connections to an unknown line. Now, your hacking of the hospital network was pretty good, but nowhere near as complex as this is. And, it was set up on the other end. Care to tell me who it is who you've been chatting with and why?"

Jack tried not to show his panic, but he felt himself getting rattled. He didn't know what to say and, more importantly, what to reveal.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

August, 2013

When Blair got into the office, she went to the newsroom and told Briggs that if she needed it, there'd be an editorial meeting in the evening. Briggs nodded and Blair headed to her office. She stopped by her assistant's desk and informed the woman that she didn't want to be disturbed for two hours. Once inside, she closed the door and crashed on the couch.

It had been an exhausting day and she hadn't even tackled anything related to the paper. And, quite frankly, she didn't want to.

She looked around the office and was filled with a fresh wave of loss. Every day, she missed Todd more and more. She reached for her purse and took her phone out. She found the picture she was looking for and stared at it for a while. Eventually, she closed the app and put the phone away. She closed her eyes, hoping to catch a catnap while she could.

_When she opened her eyes, she was unsurprised by a number of things that should have been a surprise. First, she was surprised that she was in a big, comfy bed. Second, that that big comfy bed was in their room in the penthouse. Third, that in that bed, lying next to her, was Todd. Lastly, that Todd, lying next to her, was on his side, staring at her like he always did._

"_Morning," she said, stretching her limbs._

"_More like afternoon," he replied, his smirk/smile flashing on his lips. "Morning was a while ago when you did that thing with your finger…"_

"_Really, it was?" Blair lowered her hand and watched Todd's face brighten. "Ah, yes I think I remember. And if not, or if I'm going it wrong, you could always help me too…" she said, a seductive smile on her face._

_He pulled her closer and she was lost in his kiss. She burrowed herself in the crook between his arm and his body. "Have we finally reached it?" she asked him._

"_Reached what?" Todd asked, his voice dream-like._

"_That perfect place? Nobody between us, no lies ready to catch us? Just us and our children, living our life, finally reaching normal?" Blair queried. She turned to look at him. "You have any sense of doom?"_

_A shadow fell across Todd's face. "Yes," he answered._

_That surprised Blair. She sat up to readjust herself and when she turned back, Todd was gone. "Todd?" She looked around the room, searching for him. Then she heard a scream and her heart leapt into her throat. "Todd!" she called again. She jumped out a bed and threw a robe on. Opening the bedroom door, she found the hallway looked like it went on for miles. _

_It was then she heard her name called. "Blair!" the voice shouted. She turned around and ran towards the sound. "Todd!" she called again, hoping the voice would call to her to give her a sense of direction. Again, there was a voice calling to her. She got turned around half a dozen times more until the voice sounded as if it was coming from the door in front of her. She grabbed the knob but it was locked. She tried to ram it with her shoulder and still, it would not budge. Then, she stepped back, raised her for and slammed it into the door. It finally gave and she was faced with –_

Blair felt herself being shaken while her name was being called. She jumped off the couch and came face to face with Tea. "What are you doing here?" she demanded of the other woman, crouching as if she were about to be attacked.

"You were yelling in your sleep," Tea said, staring at her sister-in-law.

Blair stood up straighter. Her mind was still swirling with memories from the dream. She shook herself and then squinted at Tea. "What was I saying?" she asked.

"You were calling to Todd," Tea informed her. "Were you having a dream?"

Blair didn't want to answer. Tea may have been supportive of her when she was falling apart at the dinner, but she knew there was still a river of bad blood between Todd and his sister-in-law. "What brings you here?"

Tea paused, but then answered, "I wanted to thank you and Jack for at least getting Dani to the station."

"So, it's all cleared up?"

"Well, she said she's still going to be with him, so it's not in great shape," Tea admitted. "But I did get her to promise that she'll get in touch with me every day. It's not much, but I'll take it." Then, it looked like something occurred to Tea. "Why were you there this morning anyway?"

Blair waved her hand. "It turned out to be nothing. Bo and I handled it," she said dismissively. "Look, you have enough to worry about with Dani. If I need you, I'll call you." Then she looked at her watch. "I have to get some work done."

Tea looked unsure of Blair, but acquiesced. "Look, if you need me…"

"And if you need me," Blair returned, a small smile on her face. With that, Tea turned and walked out. Blair sat back down behind the desk and tried to concentrate. But her mind wandered to the memory of the dream and she shivered, from what, she did not know.

"Jack, you know, you look just like your father when he's about to pull something, so don't try to BS me," Bo said.

Jack wasn't sure if that was true or if Bo was trying to trick him. His mind was working overtime to try and think of anything, any excuse, any lie. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, the detective working at the computer. Finally, he said, "Don't make that connection!"

Bo had on a triumphant smile on his face. "Why not, Jack?"

Jack rolled his eye. "It's only…it's only for emergencies." Even though Todd had never explicitly said that, from all the routing and rerouting that had gone into it, Jack would have guessed it should be used sparingly. "Look, he left town worried about the family. I'm the only one who knows about it. Believe me, if he wanted my mother to know, he'd have told her and she'd probably be on it all the time."

Jack knew he'd said too much when he mentioned how worried Todd was. Next, Bo asked him, "What has Todd worried?" When Jack didn't immediately answer, "Jack, if I'm going to help, I need answers."

Jack looked to the detective at the computer. "I want to talk to you alone."

Bo looked towards his officer. "Castillo, give us the room." Det. Castillo nodded and left. Bo turned back and said, "You really are becoming paranoid."

"Todd doesn't know how far up this all goes," Jack said. "It all started back in Port Charles. He got a note, he didn't know from where, that told him Victor was still alive, around the time that Dani was calling him while high."

"Is that all the note said?"

"According to my mom, it also told him to finish what he started, or else. The 'or else' came when he was back in Llanview. He got another note with all our names on it." Bo asked him who he meant by 'all' and Jack listed himself, Dani, Starr, Sam, Blair, Viki, Tea and Natalie. "And he got a third note, saying they had Victor and because he failed, he was being forced to leave town."

Bo got up and grabbed a file from the cabinet. He opened it and pulled out several picture. "Does this symbol look familiar to you?" It was a tattoo on the inside of the wrist.

"Yeah, I remember Victor had it. I noticed it the day he came to visit Sam and I." Jack looked at Bo. "And it was on the note cards Todd got."

"Where are these cards now?"

Jack let out a sigh. "My mom has at least copies," he admitted.

Bo nodded and moved behind his desk chair. "Fire up this thing. I want to talk to your father." Jack could tell it was not a request, but an order. With great reluctance, he sat down and turned on the machine. After it had finished booting up, he entered the code and a screen popped up.

Todd's face brightened then his eyes narrowed. "Jack what's up?"

"Manning, what the hell is going on?" Bo's voice boomed in the background.

Jack felt awful. Todd had wanted to keep all this a secret, to try and protect them all and Jack had wilted like a flower under Bozo's questions. He didn't even want to look at the screen and said in a meek voice, "Sorry." He expected to see disappointment, a look he knew very well from Victor, in the other man.

When he finally did look up, there was no trace of that. "Jack, the life expectancy of secrets in Llanview is three months, six tops. It was going to come out sooner or later," Todd said before turning his attention to the police commissioner. "Buchanan, my son was dragged into this by me. I want him released."

"He's not under arrest for anything. But what were you thinking, doing this on your own?" Bo demanded angrily.

"Well, I was thinking I needed to protect my family, for one thing. And, quite honestly, I trust you guys about as far as I can throw the lot of you," Todd said frankly.

"Manning!" Bo yelled, rapidly losing his temper.

"Bo, if I had come to you, would you have believed me anyway? Let's be honest, I have a well earn reputation of being an untrustworthy, no-goodnik. I even told you I was being poisoned and you didn't believe me until Natalie found the arsenic on the stopper!" Todd exclaimed.

"By the way, Bo did examine Dani's drugs and found out they were a lot stronger than normal," Jack offered helpfully.

The newspaper publisher's eyes narrowed on the screen. "Well lookie here. And I thought you tossed them. Sounds like a good scoop for _The Sun_, wouldn't you say, son?"

Jack couldn't help but return the smirk. He looked at Bo, who looked to be getting pissed off more by the second. After glaring between father and son, he demanded, "Where are you now?"

"Taking care of my business," Todd answered without really answering.

"What is your location?" That question was met with a stony stare. Then Bo said, "Todd, this involves my family too. Natalie, probably Jessica. They're my nieces too. And all their kids as well."

Jack saw Todd waver at the mention of Aunt Viki's daughters and grandkids. Before he could answer, there was a knock at the door and Jack could hear someone say housekeeping. Todd flicked his gaze to the door. "I have the 'do not disturb' sign up." He turned his attention back to Jack and Bo. "Blair has the notes. They have the same symbol as that body did, the one from the river." Then, there was another knock, louder this time, almost a pounding, off screen. Todd rolled his eyes. "Do they not understand the term 'do not disturb'?" He got up and went out of the shot.

What happened next, neither Bo nor Jack were prepared for. They heard the door being opened and saw Todd's body fly across the room. Then, coming into shot were three black clad men, two with guns and one with a Taser. The one with the Taser shot at Todd and his body convulsed, then went limp.

"DAD!" Jack shouted from the office in Llanview. One of the men with guns turned to the sound of Jack's cry and aimed at it. Then, the feed went black.

Bo hustled to the door. "Castillo, in here now!" The detective raced in and Bo told him what happened. Castillo worked at the computer for a good ten minutes, but nothing came back up. He shook his head and Bo yelled, "Damn it!"

Jack just stared at the screen. One minute, his father had been there, bitching at Bo but at least giving him some information and the next minute…the next minute, Jack didn't know. Bo came over to him and crouched in front of the chair. "Jack?" he asked softly. "Jack, do you know where your father was?"

Jack looked up and shook his head. "He said it was too dangerous to tell."

Then, Castillo turned to Bo. "Commissioner, it does appear that this message was being recorded and saved to the hard drive, as well as another similar vid conference."

Bo nodded. "Take it down to evidence. I want those gone over with a fine tooth comb." The cop nodded and left with the machine. Bo turned back to Jack, who was near tears. "Hey, we'll find your dad. But first, we have to tell your Viki and your sisters."

"And my mom," he said, his voice shaky. "They got married before he left town." Jack closed his eyes, then opened them and said, "My father told me, if it all went to hell, get help from Brody and Cord. They're white hats, they'll help no matter what. But, first, Starr…Starr has to be brought home. Her name is on the list, she has no idea about any of this." He stood up. "Look, let me talk to Cord and Brody. We don't have to tell anyone anything immediately, right?" Bo looked unsure, until Jack said, "I have a plan, give me a day to put it into place."

"What's your plan? Let me hear it out and if I agree, we'll implement it," Bo said, reassuredly.

Jack went to work, explaining it all to Bo. In the end, Bo nodded in agreement.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

August, 2013

Jack admitted he didn't have much trust in either Cord Roberts or Brody Lovett beyond that fact that his father vouched for them. And Todd didn't vouch for anyone, so that in itself said something. While Brody may have been a soldier, he had a lot of issues with PTSD. As for Cord, Jack's only encounters with that particular branch of the family had been with Aunt Tina when she'd come home for Victor's will reading and what he'd seem then, he was kind of scared of. Despite all that, when the two men, plus his cousin, Jessica stepped into Bo's office, he was actually put at ease. Which none of the people who had just arrived seemed to be, especially when Bo started.

"Okay, look, there's a lot going on, but for right now, Brody, Jessica, I need you to take the Buchanan jet to LA and pick up Starr Manning," Bo said.

"Starr, why?" Jessica asked as she looked from Bo to Jack.

"It's very complicated and I think the family needs to be told all together," Bo said. "Brody, Jess, can you go and pick her up?"

Jessica still looked confused until Jack said, "Look, I trust you both and so does my dad," he said. Then, in a heavy voice, he added, "Todd saved your life once. Can you do this for him, no questions asked?"

Jessica looked to Brody than back to Jack. "I'll call the pilot. We'll leave as soon as possible."

Jack smiled. "Have Starr call me when you get there. She'll give you problems, but I'll reassure her." She stepped out to make the call.

While they were waiting, Jack sidled up to Cord. "Did you love my mother?" he asked.

He could see Cord was caught off guard by the question. But he nodded yes. "And I still care for her. It's love, but not the way I love your Aunt Tina. And I suspect Blair still cares for me, but not the way she will always love Todd."

"Mom and Aunt Tina don't get along." It was not a question.

"No siree. They've been at odds for a long time, longer than anyone even knew Victor Lord and Irene Manning had one son, let alone two. And when it was revealed that not only was Todd that boy, but that Blair was already married to him, Tina 'bout hit the roof," Cord said, whistling. "Tina tries to act like the protective big sister, but, well, because of a lot of her antics, it's never been seen as genuine." Cord looked at Jack. "Be honest. How bad is this going to get?"

Jack didn't want to answer and didn't have to, because Jessica came back in. "The pilot said he'd be ready in thirty minutes. We'll head to the airport so he can take off immediately." With that, the couple left.

Bo turned to Cord. "Just for now, stay close to Llanfair. Keep an eye out for Viki, Tina, anyone there." He tried to whisper, but Jack heard it all.

Cord agreed and he too, left.

Bo then turned to Jack. "What are you going to do until your sister gets here?"

Jack thought about it. He looked at the clock on his phone and saw that it was nearly four. "I guess, I'll go home. Try to hide. I don't think…I don't think I can even face my mom, not after seeing…" Jack felt his eyes grow wet, but he tried to hide it. "This is reminding me of when Powell kidnapped Mom, Victor and Tea. I was so scared then and now…"

"Hey, Jack, I may have had a lot of issues with your father and your uncle in the past, but I know both are fighters. Todd left you with an important job…keep your family safe. And right now, you're going a great job at that," Bo said, a reassuring smile on his face. "Look, Castillo and evidence are still going over your computer. If you want to stick around until there done, you're welcome to."

Jack saw that as a welcome refuge. He nodded and pulled out his phone.

In her office at _The Sun_, Blair picked up. "How'd everything go with Bo?" she asked when she saw her son's name pop up.

"There's still going over it. Bo said it'll be a few more hours, so I'm going to stay here until they're done," Jack answered. It wasn't completely a lie, he told himself and from what he heard of his own voice, he sounded normal.

His mother must have bought it, because she said, "Then I'll see you whenever you're done."

"Sure thing. I love you, Mom," Jack replied.

"Love you too," Blair answered and the connection ended. Then, there was a knock at the office door. Blair looked up and took a deep breath. Turning back to her work, she asked, "What do you want, Dorian?"

"I have a lot to say to you, Blair," Dorian began. At that, Blair's whole body clenched. "But I'm not going to get into it now. I'm going to give you time to reconsider this, by yourself." Blair looked back at her aunt. "Carl has some dinner engagements in DC and he invited me to attend them with him. I still have a few friends down there and I told him I'd be happy to make contact with them for him."

"You and Carl are getting close," Blair stated.

"He's a very charming, debonair man and we have many common interests. And I think you need the time to think."

"I'm not going to be reconsidering anything Dorian. I always loved working here and Todd's given me carte blanche. Briggs and the editorial staff support me and Jack's even been finding the time to help out," she said.

She could see Dorian roll her eyes. "Well, if that is your decision, then that is that. But I would like you to think seriously who it is you are getting back into bed with…figuratively." Then Dorian came up to her and kissed each of her cheeks. "I do think it is best that we give each other a little space. I'll be leaving from here." She looked at her watch. "In fact, Carl should be downstairs now. Tata, darling." With that, Dorian swept out of the room.

When she was ready to leave, as anxious as she was to get home to a mostly empty La Boulaie, Blair also thought about that big house once again being so empty. She got a wild thought and, after initially dismissing it, she reconsidered and dialed a number.

The other end picked up and a soothing voice came on the line. "Hello, Blair, how are you doing?" Viki asked sweetly.

"I was wondering, would you like to be my guest for dinner at La Boulaie this evening? Dorian just left to go out of town and Jack's working on a project, so it's just Sam and I," Blair asked.

Viki paused for a minute. "Oh, I'd love to, but Jessica and Brody were just invited out to dinner with a friend of Brody's from the Navy. They just left for Philadelphia." Then, after a minute, Viki offered, "Would you like to bring Sam over here? He can play with Bree and Ryder while you visit."

Blair thought about it. It was a very kind offer, but she knew Tina and Cord were over at Llanfair. Then, as if reading her mind, Viki said, "Cord and Tina also went out for the evening."

Blair smiled. "Then, yes, I'd love to come. Let me close up the paper and pick up Sam. We'll be there in an hour."

One hour later, Sam was scampering upstairs with Bree as Blair followed Viki into the library. "Thank you for inviting me. I was dreading going home to Dorian, but then, when she told me she would be out of town, I wasn't looking forward to a basically empty house."

"Blair, please, you are family. You have been for a long time. And besides, Sam and Bree get along like gangbusters. I think they missed each other while Jessica was in London," Viki said.

"Yes, he was always begging me to take him there to visit. But, everything was so crazy, I never had the time," Blair said as she poured herself a glass of water.

"Have things calmed down?" Viki asked in a sweetly sarcastic voice.

"Very true," Blair agreed. "They got really crazy when Victor burst in at the hospital." She slid over to the desk and looked at the two pictures Viki had of herself with Todd and Victor. "I think back and I still can't believe that I thought Victor was Todd."

"We all did. We were made to believe it and we never had a hint of what had really happened until Todd came back," Viki said, rather sadly. "It just…I can't fathom what Todd went through all those years. And now that Victor might…"

"Hey, Todd promised Tea he would bring Victor home to her. And he's let her down too much to take on any more guilt," Blair told her sister-in-law. "They'll never be friends and I suspect there'll be all-out war for the paper once they are all back home, but they will come home."

"You've always been so sure about Todd. Even through so many awful things he's done," Viki stated.

"Well, Tea had to help me get through this one. But Todd has a reason to come home."

"And when he does, I will throw you a wedding reception." Blair began to protest, but Viki was insistent, a smile spreading on her face. "I will not take no for an answer. From you or my brother."

Blair leaned in and gave the older woman a hug. "Thank you. After what I've been going through the past day with Dorian…"

Viki's eyes rolled in the back of her head. "What's she done now?"

"She found out I'm running _The Sun_. And she's not happy about it. Wants me to think about who I'm getting into bed with," Blair answered as she wore a wicked grin. " If only she knew! And don't worry, I'm keeping my end of the deal. But I want to warn you, David is aware something is up. Jack tried to make it sound like it was just sex, but sometimes, I swear, he can intuit things. And he does tend to be like a dog with a bone."

"Oh, if David wants to spill whatever beans he thinks he had to Dorian, that's fine. I was only joking anyway," Viki replied.

Blair somehow doubted that but let it slide. "Have you heard anything about Clint?" she asked, wanting to change the subject.

"No, but Cord found out that he'd been signed into St. Ann's. The strange thing is, Bo's signature was the one on the commitment papers and he claimed he never saw them."

Blair feigned not knowing any of this already. "Really? But how would they have gotten his signature?"

"Well, forging a signature isn't very difficult nowadays and with Bo being such a prominent figure, I suspect it would be easy to obtain it."

"Well, who would want to stash Clint in St. Ann's in the first place?" Blair asked genuinely confused.

"I have no idea, but Cord is looking into it. He went there today, but was told Clint is still under heavy sedation," Viki replied.

It was then that the kids ran down complaining about being hungry. Viki and Blair corralled them into the dining room and they enjoyed the meal that had been prepared. As Blair sat back and ate, she took in the scene before her. Her son was enjoying being in the company of his extended family, having something at his age that Blair had yearned for at that time. Viki was, as always, the indulgent aunt and grandmother, enjoying the presence of her family around her. In her mind's eye, Blair saw Todd there, bickering with his sister over something while Jack and Starr copied the elder brother and sister. Victor and Tea were off in a corner together, keeping to themselves as much as Viki would allow. Even Tina was there, throwing dirty looks to Blair as Todd threw them to his other sister while Cord tried to hold his wife back.

Llanfair had always been a family home and, imagining the scene before her, Blair knew that it would be again.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

August, 2013

When the phone rang, Jack looked at the clock. It was nearly eleven at night and he realized he had fallen asleep on Bo Buchanan's couch. On the third ring, he answered the phone.

Starr's voice came through on the other end. "Jack, what's going on?" his older sister demanded.

It took Jack a minute to clear the sleepiness away. "Starr, are Jessica and Brody there?" he asked.

"Yes, they just showed up at my apartment. Jack, what's wrong?" she asked again.

"Look, just come back with them," he said evasively.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong," Starr told him. He could hear the panic rising in her voice.

Jack thought about how much he should say. Finally, he merely said, "Mom's going to need you. I need you."

That stopped Starr and she caught on to what he hadn't said. She turned to see her cousin standing there, concern on her face. Then, Starr replied, "I'll call you when we arrive in Llanview." With that, she ended the connection. She turned to Jessica. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

Jess shook her head. "All I know is, it's bad enough that Jack went to Uncle Bo."

That, in and of itself, concerned Starr. She had never known any male in her family to voluntarily go to the police for help. "I guess I should pack up my things. I have a feeling I'll be home for a while."

"Do you need help?" Jessica asked. Starr nodded and the two cousins headed into the bedroom.

While Starr was going through her closet and dresser, she asked, "Have you spoken to my dad?"

Jess shook her head. "By the time Brody, the kids and I got home, Uncle Todd had left town. And we came home because my dad had some kind of public breakdown." She went on to describe the Man of the Year dinner and the fact that Clint was supposed to be honored and wound up causing a scene. "Natalie said it all happened because Mom broke off the engagement to Dad, but, I don't know, something's not making sense."

"That sounds more like something my father would do than Clint," Starr mused. "Oh, wait, he did go off the deep end when Mom turned down his proposal!"

"He really went after John, didn't he?"

"He felt that John has messed up his and Mom's reunion for arresting him. When he found that picture of John and Sam Morgan, well, he got his perfect revenge," Starr explained.

"And to think, it wound up being all for nothing," Jessica replied. "Uncle Victor was alive."

"Has anyone found out where he was?" Starr asked.

"Mom tried to find out, but he hasn't given many straight answers, other than Allison Perkins held him captive for a while," Jessica informed her. "But I think Tea tried to get him to open up. I'm sure Mom's tried but he…he didn't say much."

The packing done, Brody took Starr's bags and deposited them into the trunk of the rental car. They headed back to the airport and boarded the plane home. They sat for the first hour or so of the flight in silence before Brody queried Starr. "Did you brother say anything else to you when you were on the phone with him?"

"No," Starr admitted. "All he said was Mom and I need him." Then she thought about the brief conversation. "There was something about his voice…"

Jessica saw the shadow fall over Starr's face. "What?"

"He sounded," Starr hesitated, unsure of herself, "he sounded scared."

Starr suspected that Brody, once a Llanview police officer and a friend of Gigi Morasco's, wouldn't have agreed with Starr's hypothesis. But when she looked at him, she saw sympathy in his expression. "I was watching him when we were all with Bo. He seemed to be hiding something, but something that made him afraid."

"And Uncle Bo, he seemed to be back Jack with everything, one hundred percent," Jessica added.

Starr sat back, replaying the conversation with Jack in her head. "It almost reminded me of when I found him and Sam locked in a closet, when Powell and Rebecca kidnapped Mom, Tea and Victor. He was so terrified that time, he wouldn't tell us what happened. And that was what it seemed like earlier."

"Well, whatever it is, Bo wants to tell the family all together," Brody said.

Starr nodded gravely. "And in my experience, that's never good."

As the plane drew nearer to Llanview, Jack was still in Bo's office. With Starr now on the way, they were going over a list of everyone who should be at Llanfair when the news was broken. His mother and sister, of course and his aunts would be there, as would Cord, Jessica and Natalie and Tea and Dani. Bo wanted to also include Matthew and Nora, because, he said, he suspected that whatever could be going on could also have spread to the Buchanans. "Also, I think it's best if the DA is there. I also want her and the LPD to reopen any cases relating to Todd's disappearance a decade ago, your Uncle Victor's shootings, everything. This isn't something that just happened one to two years ago."

Jack thought for a minute. "What did happen to Todd all those years ago? How'd he get into the position to be kidnapped anyway?"

He could tell Bo was going through his memories. "Todd went up again Mitch Laurence. It came out that he raped your Aunt Viki. Somehow, Mitch got the better of him…and entombed him in your grandfather's crypt."

"And he was taken out of it by Tomas Delgado?" Jack asked.

"It appeared to be that way. Blair tried to free him, but she wasn't strong enough to move the top of the crypt and by time she got help, it was empty," Bo explained. "Then next time anyone saw 'Todd Manning', he had another face."

"Who was Victor," Jack added.

"Well, at the time, we all thought he was Walker Flynn, then Walker Laurence, Mitch's brother. But he slowly revealed himself as Todd to Starr, Viki, even Kevin. Your mother was the last to find out," Bo went on.

"And all that time we thought Victor was Todd, Todd was being held prisoner somewhere in Louisiana?" Jack tried to figure out. It was like Jack was finally putting the pieces together. When Todd had come back, Jack had been the most resistant. He had grown up with Victor, wouldn't even give Todd a chance. Hell, he'd even accused Todd of killing Victor.

"Jack, this is the most baffling case I have ever had. Unknown twins, secret intelligence groups, you name it, this case seems to have it," Bo tried to say. "I'm confused half the time."

Jack thought back to the letter he had received from Todd. _Too much time lost_. That was what he had said in it and the full impact of that was just hitting Jack. And now the fact that he could lose…no, he wouldn't think that.

There was a knock at Bo's door and Nora Buchanan walked in. "You called me about something…" Her words died in her throat. "So, what kind of trouble has he gotten into?"

Jack wanted to throw the district attorney a dirty look, but too much was weighing on his mind. He saw Bo shakes his head and escort his wife out of the office. Jack moved to the door. He may have been un-Manning-like in his cooperation with the police, but damned if he wasn't going to take after his father and eavesdrop.

"Ironically, Jack's been helping, Nora," he heard Bo say.

"Really? Jack Manning, son of Todd Manning, bane of existence for this town," Nora replied incredulously.

"Honey, there's a lot going on. I'm going to need you to stick around for a bit. Jessica and Brody are en route back from LA with Starr Manning. When she gets here, I want to get the Lord family together," Bo told her.

Jack heard Nora beginning to say something, but stopping short. "What's going on?" she asked, a question Jack must have heard ten times today.

"I'm going to be reopening a number of investigations pertaining to Todd Manning…his kidnapping, the shooting of his brother, all of it. There looks like there's a conspiracy swirling around the Lord family and I think Todd and Victor are at the center of it."

Jack couldn't hear Nora's response to that. And then, they seemed to have been interrupted by Detective Castillo. Jack jumped back and tried to look as casual as possible as the three entered the room.

"Jack, where did you get this picture?" Bo asked, showing him a print of the shot of Allison Perkins.

"When I was in the hospital system, I noticed it. Look, I actually forgot about it when we all came to you about Natalie. Sorry," Jack said truthfully.

"So we can place Allison at the hospital recently?" Nora asked.

"These were from the night they brought Clint in after what happened at the Man of the Year dinner," Bo explained.

"And you obtained them how?" Nora asked Jack.

Bo looked at the younger man and turned to his wife. "He hacked the hospital's security feed." Jack looked to Nora, whose eyes gleamed. But before she could say anything, the door to Bo's office flung open.

Starr, Jessica and Brody stood there, Starr's face red.

Jack didn't know why, but he ran into his sister's arms and hugged her forcefully. Starr returned the gesture. When they had broken apart, Jack turned to Bo. "I think…I don't want everyone blindsided. I think we should show Starr."

Bo nodded in agreement as Starr looked from Nora to Jessica and Brody to Jack. "Show me what? Does this have to do with Dad?"

Bo didn't answer her question, but pulled the chair closer to the computer. "Jessica, Brody, maybe you should stay for this as well."

All three, along with Nora, watched the screen as Jack tried to fade into the background. He heard the conversation he had had with his father earlier in this never-ending day. Just before Todd got up to answer the door, Bo paused the video. "What I'm about to show you is…it's graphic."

Starr turned and looked to Jack. He was near tears. But he saw his sister straighten her back as she looked at Bo. "Show me," was all she said.

Bo nodded and hit play. As the door opened on the screen, Jack had to close his eyes. Watching once was bad enough. He heard the crash, the stun gun hitting its target and his own voice screaming. Then he heard the gasps from around the room. When he opened his eyes, he saw Brody holding Jessica, who was crying on his shoulder and Nora's face was even panic-stricken. Then he heard the muffled cries of his sister and he went to her.

He took his big sister in his arms and held her as she cried. He had always known how close they had been when she was growing up and when Todd Manning returned to the family, that connection held and grew stronger. He knew she was devastated by what she had just seen.

And in truth, so was he.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

August, 2013

Dawn broke on Llanview. It was a late summer morning. At Llanfair, the great house was busier than normal. Sam Manning, not wanting to be separated from his best friend, Bree Brennan, had begged to sleep over. Blair had agreed and, because it had been decided so late, Viki had invited Blair to stay overnight as well. Since Blair didn't much like the idea of returning to an empty home of her own, she agreed and had stayed in the room that had been Todd's when he had returned two years ago.

She had changed back into her clothes from the day before when he phone rang. "Where are you, Mom?" Jack had asked as soon as she answered it.

"Oh, Jack, sorry, I forgot to call. Viki invited Sam and I over to dinner and Sam didn't want to go home. He wanted to spend more time with Bree and at that point, it was so late, Viki asked me to stay too," Blair said, almost apologetically.

"You're at Llanfair? Okay, no problem. Look, I'll be over there soon," he said, hanging up the phone before his mother could say anything else. He went into her bedroom and found the notes that Todd had been sent, which he handed over to Bo. The police commissioner looked them over. "Okay, we'll see you there Bo," he said as he took his sister's hand.

Meanwhile, at Llanfair, Blair just stared at her phone. She wondered why Jack would be coming to Viki's. She continued to ponder that as she made her way down the stairs. When she hit the foyer, the doorbell rang. Lois wasn't around, so she answered it herself.

Tea stood on the other side of the door. "Blair, you got here quick," she said as she walked in.

"Sam and I were visiting last night and we stayed so late, Viki told us to just sleep over," Blair explained. "Why are you here?"

"Bo called me. He said he had some news he wanted to tell the entire family," Tea said.

"Well, that wouldn't include you," Tina Lord Robert's voice piped up. She was coming down the stairs with Cord and wore a superior smile.

"Well, as it just so happens, Jack is coming over here to meet me, so, I guess I'm close enough to family for it," Blair retorted.

Tina merely narrowed her eyes and walked into the library. Cord offered an apologetic smile.

Before Blair could go in as well, Tea grabbed her by the arm. "Do you think this has to do with the body Todd was trying to pass off as Victor's?"

Blair thought about it for a minute. "Why would Bo want to see the entire family?" she asked. A shiver ran down her spine. "No, I don't think it would have to do with that."

They went in as the front door opened and Natalie, Liam, Dani and Matthew arrived. "Does anyone know what's going on?" Natalie asked as Liam caught sight of Ryder and scurried into the kitchen to join him.

The group all shook their heads as Viki joined them. "Well, this is a lovely surprise. I guess we'll be having lots of the family for breakfast." Before she could notify the staff, the doorbell rang again. Blair saw Jack and, surprisingly, Starr, come in. Both of her children ran to her.

"Starr, what are you doing here?" she asked, a sense of dread creeping through her.

Starr hugged Blair and said, "I missed you and I wanted to come home."

Before Blair could respond to her daughter, the doorbell rang once again. Bo and Nora arrived with Jessica and Brody and Blair's fear lingered. The police commissioner and the district attorney surveyed to room, looking at everyone there.

"Thank you for getting here so early," Bo began. "I apologize for the mystery surrounding why you all were called here. We have a lot to get through, so let's begin."

When everyone was settled, Blair couldn't help but notice that Jack, Starr, Jessica and Brody were all standing near Bo. She looked to her son but his face was unreadable. She turned her attention back to Bo.

"I've asked the LPD and the District Attorney's office to reopen a number of cases. One is the disappearance of Todd Manning from Llanview in 2003. Another is what seemed to be the murder of Victor Lord Jr. by Todd Manning in 2011. Now, you all know now that Victor wasn't killed. It was brought to my attention that before Todd returned to Llanview a few months ago, he was made aware of the fact that his brother was, in fact alive."

Jack noted that the only people who were not surprised by this were Tina, Cord, Dani, Matthew and Natalie. It was his cousin who spoke up. "Todd knew that Victor was alive before he showed up at the hospital?"

Blair nodded. "He received a note while he was in Port Charles, revealing that news to him." She looked to Bo. "I have it back at La Boulie."

Bo held it up. "Jack got it for me before we came here."

Blair flashed a gaze at Jack as Bo spoke to her. "Blair, I'm going to have to reveal some things here that I know are supposed to be secret." He offered her a sad smile.

Blair bit her lip but indicated her allowance. Bo continued. "Now, most of you know that Victor made his presence known when Dani OD'ed the opening night of Shelter. And he stayed in town for about a week. Before he left, he and Todd had some kind of confrontation and Todd was nearly strangled to death."

"So that really did happen?" Matthew asked. "I know you thought it was a setup at first."

"Todd's neck…did show evidence of an attempt. Plus, Natalie found arsenic residue on the stopper on the scotch decanter." Jack saw Bo raise his gaze to Tea. She took a deep break and nodded her head ever so slightly. "Evidence was found on Tea's computer of internet searchs on ways to kill people, with a page coming up specifically for arsenic."

"So, you think Victor tried to poison and strangle Todd?" Tina asked, confused.

"That's the way the evidence point. We still have an ABP out for Victor but now, Todd is out of town. He told Viki and Jack it was for business," Bo said.

"He also told me that too," Dani added.

"What he didn't reveal, expect to a few people is, he received two other note after the one about Victor being alive. Now that one, it ordered him to 'finish what you started or else'," Bo quoted. "The second note listed the names of many people here; Dani, Jack, Starr, Sam, Blair, Viki, Tea and Natalie." He looked at each person as he said their names. "As of this morning, each of those people were in town, expect for his daughter Starr."

Viki brought her hand to her mouth in shock. "It was a threat, wasn't it?"

Bo nodded again. "The third note he received told him that whoever they were had Victor and that Todd had failed them. The price for failure was he had to leave Llanview, leave his family. That's why he had to get out of town quickly and with a vague reason."

Blair straightened her back and stood up. She turned to the family. "Before Todd left," she said as she reached for her ring finger, "I wouldn't let him leave without a promise to me. I wouldn't let him leave without marrying me."

That got more of a reaction from the family than the news that Todd knew about Victor. In fact, the loudest voice she heard wasn't Tina's, though the annoying woman let out with something between a squeak and a squawk, but from her daughter. "You and Dad got married and you didn't tell me?" She turned to her brother and noticed his unsurprised expression. "Did you know about this?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "If we told you, it wouldn't have been a secret," was all he said. "You're kind of a blabbermouth."

"Starr, the only person who knew at first was Tea. She guessed that we were back together and I showed her the ring. And I only told Jack and Viki a little while later," Blair tried to reason.

"Look, there are other things more important than Blair and Todd's secret marriage," Bo interceded. "Now, after Clint had the meltdown at the Veteran's dinner, Natalie and Matthew went to the hospital. There was a conflict in their memories of that night. Matthew said she left with a member of staff to see her father, but initially, Natalie said she wasn't allowed to see him and she left with Matthew." Bo turned to Jack. "Jack learned of these inconsistencies and, in doing a little," it was obvious Bo was searching for the best way to phrase this, "investigating on his own, found out that, not only was Matthew right, but that Allison Perkins was also there that night." Bo took out the picture from Jack's laptop and passed it around.

"Allison was…" Natalie narrowed her eyes as she looked at the shot, then they flew open. "Oh my God, she was in Dad's room!"

Bo turned to her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I remember. He was tied to the bed and she was standing next to him with a syringe in her hand. She must, she must have shot me with something so I wouldn't remember!"

"Well, we have an APB out for her too. But Jack was in my office most of yesterday and my detectives were going over his computer. They found his ins with the hospital security network but also found another communications portal. It was very sophisticated and it's been routed through so many IP address, we still haven't found the origin point," Bo explained.

"Todd…my father set it up," Jack stepped forward and confessed. Turning to Blair, he said, "That was what the second note to me was about. It was the computer commands on how to link it up."

Blair's hands went to her heart. "You talked to your father?" she asked in barely a whisper.

Jack nodded. "A couple of times," he told her.

"The last time was yesterday. Now, Jack had them both recorded. The first one, we'll get to later. But, you all need to see the video from yesterday." Bo popped the DVD that had been burned into the machine. As Todd's face came up, Blair was so overcome with emotion, she didn't notice her children come and stand beside her.

Todd appeared on screen and almost immediately began bickering with Bo. But slowly, he almost sounded like he was cooperating with the man who had long been a nemesis of sorts. Then, where were knocks at the door to his room, one louder than the other that had been heard a minute before.

"Do they not understand the term 'do not disturb'?" he husband wondered aloud. Todd got up to answer the door and it went crashing open, sending Todd hurtling backwards from the force. Blair jumped at the sound and felt a pit open in her stomach at the next thing she saw; a stun gun being used on Todd. He fell to the floor and was obviously unconscious. In unison with her son's voice that she thought she heard come from the video, she screamed, "TODD!" She lunged for the screen, trying to get to him, not realizing for a minute that it was a recording.

Jack and Starr fell to the floor besides their mother, who was wailing Todd's name. Jack looked up and saw the horrified expression on so many faces. Jessica clutched her mother's hand and Tina just stared at the screen, shaking her head as she kept repeating, "What happened?" Even Tea and Dani were in tears holding each other as the screen went blank as a gun was turned on it.

Blair was on her knees sobbing uncontrollably. Starr was trying to calm her down, but she too was crying. It was Jack who finally spoke. "I'm sorry, Mom, I'm so sorry." Blair looked at him as he continued. "This happened yesterday and I couldn't come home, I couldn't see you. Not knowing…"

Blair didn't hear him. She turned her attention back completely on the now blank screen. "We have to find him, Bo. We have to find him."

"My people are working on it, Blair but Todd made it very difficult," Bo responded.

Blair tried to gather her strength to stand but the minute she was erect, she collapsed again. Jack and Starr managed to stop her from hitting the floor. Her son looked at her and shook his head. "She's out cold," he said.

Aunt Viki gathered herself together. "Look, let's get her upstairs into bed." Cord stepped forward and gathered Blair in his arms, carrying her up the stairs. Starr followed along with Tina.

Jack turned to his aunt and saw her fighting tears. He went to her and embraced her, whispering, "We'll get him back."

But he wasn't sure that wasn't a lie.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

August, 2013

The ringing of a phone broke the spell that had settled over the room. Jack turned and saw Bo on the phone. "You got something?" he asked as he and Nora moved off to the side.

Jessica and Natalie came over to their mother. "Are you alright?" the redhead asked.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. I'm more worried about Blair right now," Viki replied.

"Should someone call Dorian?" Jessica asked.

Jack shook his head fervently. "Right now, Aunt Dorian's in a snit about the fact that Mom's running _The Sun_. And she has no clue that Mom and Dad are back together, much less married."

"Well, until David breaks the news," Viki said with a chuckle as Cord and Tina reappeared. "How is Blair?"

Cord shook his head. "She's still out. We put her in the room that was Todd's and Starr's staying with her."

"She's so devastated," Tina said. "I know I've never thought much of her relationship with Todd, but to see her like that…" She leaned against Cord's shoulder and he brought his arms around her.

Bo and Nora came back into the room. "That was the station. They were finally able to trace the origin point of Todd's line. He was in Chicago. Det. Castillo has contacted the Chicago PD and they've connected it to a shots fired report from a motel. I'm going to fly out there and take control of the scene. Brody, if you want to, you can come with me."

Brody nodded and Jack looked at him, then Bo. "I want to come too," he said.

"Jack, this is an active criminal investigation…" Bo began.

"Committed on my father," he said, arms crossed. "I'll stay out of the way, but I'm going." He didn't wait for an answer and headed up to tell Starr.

She was sitting on the bed hold her mother hand when the door opened and Jack poked his head in. He looked to Blair and then gestured for Starr to come out in the hallway. She got off the bed and followed him.

Once outside, he told her, "Bozo finally found where Dad was when he made contact with me. I'm going to Chicago with him and Brody, see what they can find."

"Jack, what are the chances that he's even still there? That video was, what, from over twelve hours ago. Whoever has him, they could have moved him out of the country by now!" she exclaimed.

"Or, he could still be there," Jack retorted. "Look, it's the only lead we have. Bo said the cops there have the crime scene sealed off. It's worth a try. But I may be needed…to identify" Jack didn't want to think about what he may have to identify so he came up with "…personal affects."

Starr could tell her brother was reaching, trying to come up with any excuse to go. "Chicago was where he grew up," she said at last.

"Yeah, I know." He opened his arms and Starr embraced him.

"Be careful," she said into his chest. "Stay out of trouble. I doubt Bo trusts you, the last few days notwithstanding."

Jack nodded silently and went back down the stairs. Starr slipped back into her mother's room. Blair wasn't awake and Starr envied her a little bit. Better, she thought, than to have to be around family worrying themselves with the unknown. She climbed onto the bed and brought her mother's head onto her stomach. "He'll come back, Mom. He always does. Even when we think we have him back." Starr stroked her mother's hair, wondering where she was at the moment.

_She was back in bed, but the room was definitely different. Not as airy or bright, an older construction but familiar. _

"_I still can't believe Viki talked us into this," she heard Todd say._

"_What, the renewal of our vows and the wedding reception?" Blair asked. "I tried to dissuade her, but…"_

"_Yeah, I remember how Viki gets. But, well, we got back at her, at least a little bit."_

_Blair raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you suggested we stay here tonight?" Now the memories were coming back to her. Todd had asked that they stay at Llanfair. He used the excuse that the penthouse was under such massive renovation that they couldn't move around the place. Technically, Blair was supposed to be in a room down the hall, but Todd snuck her down to his room. "You know, I think you lost some of your stealth. You used to sneak into Asa's mansion better than did getting me in here."_

_Todd grimaced. "Confession: I never actually did this when I was a teenager," he said._

"_You never snuck girls into your room?" Blair asked, a glint of amusement in her voice._

"_Let's remember the jackass who raised me. I didn't want to have friends over, let alone girlfriends. And he was such a misogynist, he was suspicious of any girl who's eye I caught," Todd reminded her._

_Blair smiled sadly. "I'm glad I never got the chance to meet him. Or the kids."_

"_I'm surprised I'm half a good father, what with Nature and Nurture," Todd spit out._

"_You are a wonderful father. Starr and you were always connected, no matter what and you and Jack are strengthening every day," Blair told him, playing with his hear. "And today, they are going to be standing beside us as we say our vow…"_

"…_again…"_

"…_in front of our families," Blair finished._

_An evil smile flashed on his face. "With Dorian there." But then, he seemed to think of something else. "And this is the last time we say them," he grunted._

_Blair brought her lips to his. They were lost in the moment. When they parted, Todd said, "You've always been so strong. You need to be for a little while longer. I'm coming back to you, I swear. Just hang in there."_

_She closed her eyes and nestled on his chest. "I always do."_

Blair woke up with such a start, Starr nearly jumped off the bed. "Todd!" she called to him. Then she looked around and saw her startled daughter. Blair squinted and saw the room. It was just like the one in her dream.

"Mom!" Starr cried.

"Starr," she said, reaching for her daughter. "Where am I?"

"You passed out. Cord brought you up here," her daughter informed her.

"Cord? No, I was in here, in this room, with your father," Blair said. Then she remembered the image she had seen on the screen. "Todd's…not here."

Starr shook her head. She was near tears as she said, "No. He's gone, someone took him."

Blair grabbed her and held her close. "He's coming back to us, Starr. I swear to you, he is."

"I know," Starr said. She knew then it would ne alright.

He was groggy, bound and blindfolded. He's legs were barely working under him and whoever had him was basically dragging him along. Then, they stopped and he heard the sound of an automatic door as it hissed open. His hands were untied and the blindfold removed as he was shoved into the room. He heard the closing of the door from the cell floor.

Whatever they had zapped him with must have still been effecting him because the room was spinning out of control. After a few minutes, it finally stopped and he looked around. The room was about a Spartan as the one he had been locked up in for eight years.

He eventually made out a bunk bed in the corner. That was when he saw the figure shifting on the lower bed. He could see someone sitting up with detached curiosity then getting up for closer examination.

A pair of blue eyes met his and all he could do was groan. "Of all the secret military prisons in all the towns in all the world, why did they have to throw me into the same one was you?" Todd groaned out.

"Happy to see you too, brother," Victor replied, his expression turning deadly. 


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

August, 2013

Blair got off the bed and headed towards the door. She stopped when she heard Starr's voice. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked.

"No. I won't be okay until he's back with me," Blair said. "But I can't sit back and do nothing. I'm going to help find your father."

Starr saw the determination in her mother's features. This was the Blair Manning who never let life get the better of her, despite setbacks that would have leveled most people. This was the fierce protector who never backed down from a fight, even against people like Marty Sayebrooke, Asa Buchanan or even Dorian Lord. Starr smiled as she nodded her head. "Jack's already on that."

"How so?" Blair asked, turning away from the door.

"The LPD was able to find Dad's location when he was taken. Bo, Jack and Brody are headed to Chicago," Starr explained.

"Jack went?" That heartened Blair as she smiled at the thought. Todd had been trying so hard with Jack, from as far back as his return after eight years and Jack was now stepping up.

"Yeah, I think Jack put his foot down about it. I can't picture Bo inviting him along," Star finished. "I also told him to stay out of trouble."

Blair kissed the top of Starr's head, then laughed at a thought. "A Manning man, staying out of trouble? That'll be the day. But you're a good big sister to try anyway." She then took her daughter's hand. "Let's go down and see if there's any other news."

The mother and daughter made their way into the Lord Library, finding most of the family there. Viki saw her and immediately got up. "Blair, Bo got a lead. He left a little while ago."

Blair nodded. "Starr told me." She looked around the room. "Is there any other news?"

Natalie and Jessica both shook their heads. Than the redhead said, "I think I'm going to go down to the station and see if I can help with anything. Even if it is just going over the little evidence we already have." She grabbed her bag and left.

"I'm going to go check in on the kids," Jessica offered and she left the room.

Viki turned back to Blair. "Do you want me to call Dorian for you?" she asked kindly.

Blair couldn't help but smirk. "You really want to get to Dorian before David does, huh?"

Viki rolled her eyes at that comment. "I was thinking you need all the support you can get at this time," Viki replied. "My feelings about your aunt, notwithstanding."

Blair shook her head. "No, the last person I need here is Dorian. But thank you for the thought." She turned to Nora. "What I need now is to find my husband. Nora, you said you were going to reopen some of the old cases about Todd's disappearance."

Nora nodded. "I have my office compiling the files now. God knows there are a lot of cases with the name 'Todd Manning' on them. It's a matter of sorting through the crimes he's committed and the ones committed on him," she said sarcastically. Then she saw the looks from around the room. All were various degrees of annoyance. "Sorry, force of habit. I'm going to head out, see how they're going with that." And then she left.

"Can I get you anything, Blair?" Tina asked quietly. She looked unsure of how to approach her brother's wife.

"No, Tina, I'm fine. I just need to feel useful," Blair replied. "I refuse to sit on the sidelines with this."

"Honey, there are lots of people trying to find Todd. I don't know what else you can do," Viki tried to reassure her.

Blair caught sight of Tea and Dani. She knew that what she was going through, her sister-in-law going through too. "How are you holding up?"

Tea offered her a sad smile. "Not half as good as you are," she replied.

Blair opened her arms and the two women embraced. When they parted, both had tears in their eyes. "What we can do is try to figure this out. This isn't something that just happened. I think we need to go back over everything, going back to when Todd went missing from the crypt."

Starr nodded in agreement, but added, "That's a lot of time, Mom. Do you think we'll find anything from it?"

Viki stood up and joined her brothers' wives. "We have to," she said.

Blair nodded in agreement. "Then, let's get started. Let's go through events, memories, anything. There has to be a pattern here." With that, the women set to work.

* * *

Bo, Brody and Jack were directed to the motel Todd had been staying at and met with the lead detective there. "Nick Jobek. I take it you're the party from Llanview, PA?"

Bo nodded. "Commissioner Bo Buchanan, my deputy, Brody Lovett and Jack Manning. His father's the one that disappeared. What have you got here?"

"The room was registered to a Tony Lord, paid cash cash five nights ago," Jobek said.

"'Tony Lord'?" Brody asked.

"Probably an alias," Bo surmised. "Tony Lord was another son of Victor Lord, by another mistress, Dorothy Randolph. If I remember correctly, he was born between Viki and Meredith." Bo pulled out a picture and approached the man at the desk. After an introduction, he showed the shot. "This was the man who went by Tony Lord?" At an affirmative, Bo handed it over to the detective. "Todd Manning, tabloid publisher and one of the heirs of the late Victor Lord."

"I knew this guy," Jobek said handling the picture himself. "We played high school football together. Man, he was brutal on the gridiron. But I guess that was how he had to be."

That perked up Jack's ears. "Why do you say that?"

As they made their way to the room, the cop explained, "It was our junior year, biggest game of the season. He missed a tackle and we lost. Well, after the game, I saw him with his dad and man, was he getting laced into by the guy. Calling him worthless, a failure. It got so bad, my own father was ready to step in."

Jack recalled a conversation he had had recently, when Todd had tried to talk to him about the man who had raised him. Peter Manning was never a subject that was brought up much when he was a child, but now, he figured that it may not have been as clear a memory to Victor. "If you knew him, what was he like back then?"

"Moody, kept to himself. Not so hot academically. In fact, it was his football prowess that got him into college," the detective answered as they approach the room. Before they were let in, Jobek said, "He was a pretty good writer, though. I remember seeing a grade from a writing class. It was kind of for the jocks, real easy, but the teacher always gushed to him about his work there."

Jack found that interesting. He remembered his mother saying how good of a writer, even for a rag like _The Sun_, Todd was. "Guess his talent showed early," Jack commented.

Going into the room, it was obvious the place was the one seen in the video. A glass-top table was shattered, probably where Todd had landed when the kidnappers entered.

"Bo, found the computer," Brody said. It was shot up and in pieces on the desk.

"Bag it. I want it looked at by CSU back in Llanview."

Jack wandered into the room's bedroom and found his father's suitcase. Bo followed him and began going through it. Another note, with the same symbol as the others, was tucked in a pocket. Bo opened it, and Jack read over his shoulder.

_5316 West Gladys St._

_Don't fail us again._

"Did your mother mention this message?" he asked Jack.

Jack shook his head. "No, just the three I gave you," Jack answered. "Where is West Gladys Ave? And how would Todd know? There's no town mentioned."

"That is a very good question, but the bigger one is, what do they want him to do?" Bo asked.

Jack figured it out immediately. "Kill Victor," he said. When Bo turned to him, he went on, rolling his eyes that he had to spell it out for the police commissioner. "Todd obviously didn't kill him two years, or else he wouldn't have been informed by them about it in the first place. Then they told him he failed them when they recaptured Victor."

Bo seemed to think about it for a minute than went back into the main room. Jack followed and as Bo looked the scene over, he said, "We don't know that -"

"But it makes sense." Jack's tone wasn't accusatory, just putting the pieces together. "Almost from the minute he got back to Llanview, Todd's had a gun trained on Victor. He even pulled one on Victor at the premiere."

Bo didn't say anything, but Brody, overhearing it, asked, "Why would they want Victor dead and Todd to be the one to do it? He's got a long rap sheet, but killer has never stood out on it."

"He has killed before, but the death was ruled accidental," Bo informed the others. "If your theory is right, Jack, someone would have to really pull his strings to do it."

"Like threatening his family?" Jack suggested. Then he took a breath and admitted, "He'd do anything to protect his family."

Bo nodded. "That's why he went up against Mitch Laurence all those years ago. Mitch was going after Jess and Todd was trying to protect her and Viki from him."

"What happened all those years ago?" Brody asked.

Jack didn't even know, so Bo explained how Mitch confessed to raping Viki and claimed Jessica as his daughter. "Todd went after him, but disappeared. Blair later claimed she overheard Mitch and his minions in the Lord mausoleum talking about Todd being in the crypt with his father's body. She tried to move the top but couldn't and by the time it was moved, Todd was gone."

"That was when Tomas took him out and brought him to Irene, right?" Jack asked, trying to follow.

"Yes, at least, according to Tomas, who is also missing." Bo saw Brody's expression and explained about the engagement of Blair and Tomas and how Todd returned to Llanview briefly to assume that Tomas Delgado was the same man as a Lorenzo Alcazar. "Tomas never came back and a CIA agent showed up and said he had been recalled. Tea and Blair thought Todd had him kidnapped again. I never heard how it was resolved, though."

Jack spoke up. "Mom and Tea went to DC to ask Dorian for help. They came back a few days later and the whole thing was dropped. Mom wasn't wearing her engagement ring and she said she didn't want to talk about it. Tea kept looking for a few more months, but to Mom, the matter was closed."

"Could he have factored into this?" Brody asked.

Bo shook his head. "I don't know, but I think that's a lead we will be looking into." He turned to Detective Jobek. "Thank you for all your help."

The cop nodded, but said, "As this was a crime committed here, my commander wants me to continue to liaise with the LPD."

"I think we can do that. Most of this is going to be sent to our investigators though. Why don't you come back to Llanview with us? At the very least, I know Todd's family would like to know a little more about his childhood," Bo said in agreement. The other man offered a grimacing smile and they left.


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

August, 2013

Viki found a legal notepad and began writing. "This all started with Father's 'resurrection'", she remembered, going back all these years, "and the supposed bequest to Mitch Laurence."

"And included in that was the fact that he was supposed to have been my biological father," Jessica added.

Blair nodded. "He went after Mitch, who got the better of him and that was how he ended up in the tomb," she said.

"That was where Uncle Tomas found him, right?" Dani piped up. Blair eyed the girl and Dani began to look uncomfortable.

Blair hadn't wanted to think about Tomas Delgado for a while. She still wondered what she had been thinking, getting back together with him after he'd been freed from Todd's capture.

It had been Starr who spoke up next. "What did happen to Tomas, Mom? You never said anything after the holidays."

Blair looked to Tea and then noticed other pairs of eyes on her. "Dorian went to the CIA, to try and get answers about where he went and when he'd be back. They said they couldn't release that information," Blair said at last. "It was then that I realized he hadn't given up that life at all and I broke the engagement." It was a quick and clean answer, leaving out the muddied mess that Todd had brought to life when he brought Skye Chandler and Carly Jack to Llanview.

Before that line of inquiry could be continued, Natalie came back to the house. "Det. Castillo and the tech guys looked over the video again and found something." She turned on the recording and paused it just before one of the attacker opened fire on the laptop. "See there," she said as she pointed to a glove. Just under the glove, distinctive line could be seen. "They matched up those lines to the tattoo Victor had on him when he got back and on the dead body that was found in the river."

"So the kidnappers were part of the organization that had, and presumably still has Victor," Tea surmised. "That makes sense."

Natalie continued. "Bo called the station while I was there. They're on the way back from Chicago and they have not only the computer, but also another note. It didn't have much, but there was an address on it, 5316 West Gladys Street."

"Where's West Gladys Street?" Tina asked

"Uncle Bo said that's all there was. Also it ordered Todd to not fail them again," Natalie went on.

Blair turned to Tea and saw the other woman's unease. They both knew what was meant by that message. Blair offered a sympathetic look. "Tea, if he didn't show up at the address, than I don't think he'd…" Tea nodded.

"Okay, so we have four notes now, all with the mission to seemingly lead Uncle Todd along," Jessica reasoned. "One tells him that Victor's alive and he failed. Another is a list that seems to set up his family to be harmed for failing. A third informs him they have Victor and the last one gives him an address to go to. But we don't know the town."

As they worked through several more of their clues, Nora returned and announced she had boxes of cases she needed help carrying in. Cord and Matthew went to help and soon, the family was pouring through files on the case of Todd's disappearance, ten years ago. While paging through a folder, Nora caught sight of the address written down on the pad. "5316 West Gladys Street?" She turned to Blair. "Where did you get this?"

"It was on another note Todd received. It was found in his motel room in Chicago by Jack and Bo." She caught Nora's expression. "Do you recognize it?"

Nora nodded. "I think so. If I remember it right, it was the address Todd lived at in Chicago. I remember it from his case all those years ago."

"That would make sense as to why it's just a street address and no city. Whoever wrote it assumed Todd would remember it," Natalie said. "And that may have been the reason he was in Chicago in the first place."

"Did Bo say he was going to the address?" Tea asked.

"No, he's heading back with Jack, Brody and a Chicago detective. The police there are going to handle the case out there and this detective is going to funnel information back and forth," Jessica answered.

Several hours later, the doors to Llanfair opened again and Jack walked in, followed by Bo, Brody and another man. "This is Detective Nick Jobek. He's with the Chicago PD and he's going to keep us informed about their end as well as keep them informed." Bo introduced Jobek around, especially to Viki, Tina, Starr and Blair.

When he got to the Lord sisters, Jobek said, "The commissioner was telling me that Todd discovered that he was adopted in college. I knew him in high school."

Viki smiled at that. "Well, when it's a better time, you must tell me about him then. He's always been rather closed off about that time in his life."

Nick nodded. He then addressed the group. "Before we left, I spoke with my commander and was informed that they are sending officers to the address on the note we found." Looking at his watch, he said, "Look, I'm going to go check into my room and get an update. And I think I'll get some rest and see you all in the morning." With that, he said goodnight.

Blair looked at her watch. "It's getting late and I really need to get home, if for no other reason than to change." She had just realized she hadn't been back to La Boulaie all day and she was still in the same clothes she had on when she and Sam came for dinner the night before.

"Why don't you and the children stay here? There's plenty of room and and you won't be alone," Viki offered.

Blair was very tempted to take the offer, but then, shook her head. "Look, I want to keep things as normal for Sam as possible. Staying one night was fun for him because he was here with Bree. But he's going to start to pick up that something is wrong," she said, waving around the room, "especially if he sees this mess. No, I want to go home and regroup. We'll come back in the morning, hopefully with fresh eyes."

"What about when Dorian comes home?" Viki asked as she walked the Mannings out.

"Well, I think she said she was going to be gone for a week. I hope we find him by then," Blair answered, though her voice wasn't hopeful. "I'll just cross that bridge when I get to it.

Viki embraced her and Jack went to collect Sam. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow morning." With that, Blair and her children left.

Home, however, didn't feel welcoming. Even as she got Sam tucked into bed and said goodnight to Starr and Jack, Blair didn't feel tired despite the trauma she'd endured earlier in the day. Her mind was swirling, imagining what Todd may be going through right now and ping-ponging to who could have him and for what purpose. She wandered into Dorian's office and sat at the desk, pulling out a pad and jotting down any memories she had from the last few months before he had vanished. But she couldn't get her mind off her fear for what was happening to Todd at that moment.

* * *

Todd shook his head and stared at his brother. After a minute, he said, "The cavalry is here."

Victor's face grew more menacing. "Lot of good it's doing us, you getting yourself captured and all."

Todd went to stand but a wave of dizziness sent him back to the floor. "Yeah, well, forgive me if I don't know how to greet a man who nearly killed me the last time I saw him." Testing his legs again, he said, "If it weren't for my son, you'd be facing two murder charges."

Victor raised his chin as Todd stood up. "That was self-defense."

"So you admit you strangled the guy they found in the Llantano River?" Todd didn't think it would be that easy to get him to confess. He held up his hands. "Look, I believe you too, but Bo's still got an ABP out for you and Tea's right there with him."

"Tea?" Victor asked.

Todd nodded. "Yes, she thinks by you being taken into custody, it'll protect you from whoever has you…us." He looked around the room at last. It wasn't as sterile as the hellhole he'd been imprisoned in for eight years, but it wasn't much better. At least, he thought, he had someone to talk to. "Where were you when they got you?"

Victor turned back to the bed and didn't answer. "So did you have a plan or did they get the better of you?"

"My plan was to find you and bring you back to your wife. And maybe just figure out who the hell is behind this." Todd looked at Victor. "Have they talked to you? Were there any familiar voices? Anything you've figured out since you got here would be real helpful."

"They don't talk to me. Even when they bring food. They'll usually rush me, sedate me and when I'm awake, there'll be a tray in here," Victor answered.

"Okay, then why put us in here together. They do that, you'd think they'd know we could just rush them and escape."

Victor shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Maybe they figure we'll just kill each other with the closed quarters. God knows since you got back to town, you've had me in your sights."

"I won't do that. You're too important to Tea, Sam, Jack, Dani. My kids were left without their father for too long. I'd never do that to any other kids," Todd replied.

"Well, you did shoot me," Victor retorted.

Todd closed his eyes. He remembered standing in his brother's living room, firing the gun. In a whisper, he repeated the lines that had haunted him for over two years. "You take my life, Victor, I take yours."

Victor sat up, seemingly hearing what his brother said. "What was that?"

Todd looked over and saw what looked like confusion on his brother's face. "It's what I said after I fired the gun. 'You take my life, Victor, I take yours.'"

"No you never said anything. The gun went off and you just turned around and left. I remember hearing the door close behind you," Victor told him.

"You were probably losing consciousness and didn't hear it. But I remember saying it," Todd responded.

"I distinctly remember hearing the door close. And I remember Tea coming in and finding me, so I was still conscious for a while and you never said anything!" Victor yelled.

The two men stood up in unison, equally determined that their memories were the correct ones.

"Victor, I remember clearly-"

"Well it didn't happen-"

Then, the twins stopped. Victor spoke next. "When did you remember that? Right after it happened?"

Todd blinked. "No, it was, it was a week or so later. I was up in Viki's cabin, Irene had shot me and I got away there. Blair removed the bullet but it got infected and I had a raging fever. And I was alone, Blair had to get to Starr and Tea negotiated my surrender. Irene came to me, she was haunting me." He looked at his brother. "I shot her. Anyway, she pushed me to remember…that I had shot you. And in that memory, I said that to you while you were bleeding out."

"Well, you never said that," Victor assured him. Then, he walked back to the bunk and said, "And now, I don't think I even remember you pulling the trigger."


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

August, 2013

Despite the years of animosity between Dorian and Viki, every morning, on the porch of La Boulaie, _The Banner_ still appeared. And so it was the next morning, when Blair opened the door. She hadn't had a good night's sleep and already had a cup of coffee by then. She knew she'd be heading back to Llanfair soon, hoping to piece together where her husband was and why he'd been targeted in the first place.

The news hadn't changed much in the past few days, but, thankfully for Viki and her daughters' sakes, the reports about Clint had moved off the front page and into the gossip section. As she skimmed the paper, though, something caught her eye. It was a follow-up report about the Senate investigation into Dorian's handling of the CIA leaks. She read the byline and was struck with an idea.

The kids came down for breakfast and Blair informed Sam that his friend Jimmy invited him over for the day. It wasn't exactly true, but Blair wanted to keep her youngest son away from the news about Todd. He still looked up to his uncle and knew that the middle of an investigation wasn't the place for a small boy. Jimmy's mother had been told there was a family emergency and agreed to have Sam over for the day. Blair also informed her that Shawn Evans would also be around to keep an eye on the eight-year-old.

Once he was dropped off, Blair, Jack and Starr headed over to the Lord estate. Viki greeted them at the door and Blair pulled her aside when they entered, handing her the paper. "Wasn't it this Jeffrey King who broke the story on Dorian in the first place?" she asked.

Viki read over the latest news and nodded. "He brought the information to me, yes," she confirmed.

"Viki, this is a long shot, but could that information tie into Todd's disappearance and Irene's organization?" she asked again.

Viki looked thoughtful at that. "It's possible. We know that Tomas took Todd because he'd been told that Todd was working with terrorists." She looked at the paper again. "I think I may call Jeffrey and try to, indirectly, ask him about it. There were flight manifest within the information." Viki put her hand on Blair's arm. "It's a good thought."

As Viki made the call, Blair headed back into the library. Jessica and Brody were there, drinking coffee and going through the files Nora had brought over the night before. Jessica looked up and saw Blair. Getting up, she offered Blair a cup as she said, "Matthew and Dani were leaving this morning for Port Charles."

That got Starr's attention. "Why are they heading up there?" she questioned, a hint of anxiety in her voice.

"Last night after you left, it was mentioned that Todd got the first note up there. Since there are no addresses on any of them, someone had to have hand delivered them," Brody explained.

"Yes, I know the third note was slipped under Todd's hotel room door. He also told me that the one before it was laid on the wood in the room's fireplace," Blair answered.

Jessica nodded. "Well, someone had to have either given it to the hotel to deliver it to Todd or been around to drop them off themselves," she said.

"But would they remember that all these months later?" Blair wasn't so sure about that. However, when Jessica point out that they needed all the leads they could dig up, Blair agreed with the idea.

"Besides," Brody added, "From some of the comments I heard from Tea last night, I think anything that gets Dani away from the guy she's seeing puts Tea at ease."

"Yeah, the idea of Dani and that guy…" Jack said, making a face. A shiver went down his spine. "He's, like, the same age as Todd and Victor!"

"Who is the Arturo guy anyway? Dani sent me a few texts about getting to know him, but not much else," Starr asked.

"He knew the girl who sold Dani the drugs she almost OD'ed on," Jack explained. "And she met him at the girl's funeral. At least, that's all I know."

"Tea also told me he gave her a pair of expensive earrings," Blair said.

Natalie arrived and brought Det. Jobek with her. Viki stepped back into the room and the cop updated them on the investigation back in Chicago. "They went to the address from the note and found the house empty. And, there were no signs that anyone had been there for a while."

"So why give Todd that address if there hadn't been anyone there anyway?" Jessica asked.

"It could have been just a place to grab him from," Brody suggested.

"They also asked around the neighborhood and folks there said they had seen an unfamiliar car in the area a few days before Todd was kidnapped from the motel. They showed his picture and a few residents did say the driver resembled Todd," Jobek continued.

"Well, Todd is very…distinctive-looking," Jack, cracked.

Viki looked to Blair. "I spoke to Jeffrey. He's going to come over and talk to me about the information that was given to him by his source. There may be something there that could connect all this."

When Jeffrey arrived, Viki showed him into a small office in the back of the house. Blair followed them and when they all sat down, Viki began. "Look, this is not to be reported anywhere." She looked to Blair as she continued. "Two days ago, my brother, Todd, the one you met at the hospital, was kidnapped from a motel in Chicago."

Jeffrey's expression morphed into one of sympathy. "What?" he asked, shock in his voice. He looked between the two women.

Blair nodded. "He was talking to our son and Bo Buchanan and men burst into the room and stun-gunned him. The police over there are investigating, but we think you may be able to help."

"Of course, anything I can do, I will," Jeffrey told them.

Viki smiled. "The information your source gave you, Blair has a theory that it could tie into Todd."

Blair continued. "Over a decade ago, Todd disappeared from Llanview. He supposedly came back a short time later, but we learned a few years ago, it wasn't him, but a hitherto unknown twin brother he had. When Todd returned in 2011, a former CIA agent said that he had been ordered to take Todd into custody because he was told that Todd was connected to terrorist." Blair shifted her gaze to Viki. "Now, you, in uncovering the story about my aunt, Dorian Lord, supposedly holding back on giving information she had received, had manifests of rendition flights. Were there any names that could be deciphered on those lists?"

Jeffrey looked thoughtful for a minute, but shook his head. "No. A lot of the stuff I was given was redacted. It was more evidence of what was occurring and not who it was happening to." Then Jeffrey asked, "Why would the CIA think Todd was committing treason?"

Blair shrugged her shoulders. "We never learned why, but it seemed more of a cover. His mother, who everyone believed was dead, had been in hiding for thirty years and was running some rogue intelligence operation. She believed that Todd possessed something that had information about that group, and she…she tortured him for years to get it back."

Jeffrey's shock only grew. "Yes, supposedly, years ago, Todd came into possession of a chip that had this information and when he returned, she did as well. I believe there was some confrontation between the two, which ended in Todd being shot in the shoulder and Todd killing his mother," Viki informed him.

"This sounds like a fascinating story," Jeffrey said, his eyes brightening.

"I want to keep in under wraps. We haven't heard anything from the kidnappers and it may be because they intended for Todd to just disappear like he did the last time. We only know about it because Jack was talking to him just before it happen. So, please, Jeffrey, I ask for your discretion," Viki told him.

Jeffrey nodded. "I understand. If I find anything, though, I'll let you know, boss," he said as he got up. With that, he left.

Viki turned to Blair. "It was a good idea, dear."

Blair grimaced. "We just don't know anything and have no real leads anywhere," she said as they made their way back down the hall. When they got to the foyer, the doorbell rang and Larry Wolek was standing on the other side.

"Hello Viki," he said. Then he noticed Blair and said, "It's been a long time. I didn't expect to find you here."

"Well, we're in a bit of a family crisis," Viki said. "But it's very long and involved and I'm sure, not the reason for your visit. How can I help you?"

"Well," the doctor began as the three went into the library, "Cord asked me to look at Clint's medical records from when he was admitted the night of the dinner. I noticed they did a blood draw but, in looking closely, I didn't see any signs for his heart medication."

"Dad wasn't taking his anti-rejection meds?" Jessica asked, her attention on her uncle.

"That's what it would indicate," Larry agreed.

Natalie joined the conversation. "That doesn't make sense. He knows how important they are to him."

Viki sighed deeply. "He's also been drinking an awful lot and he really shouldn't be."

Jessica cracked a wry smile. "Well, a Buchanan man without a drink isn't much of a Buchanan man. At least, that's what Grandpa always said."

"Well, I was just over at Asa's mansion and Nigel told me that he hadn't seen the pills there since they moved back. Did he maybe leave them here?" Larry asked.

Jessica told him she'd go and check and headed upstairs. While she was gone, Jack approached Larry. "Hi," he said shyly.

"Hey there, Jack. How are you doing? You never came back for any more chats," Larry asked.

"Things have gotten…weird." Before he could continue, Jessica came back down. "No, the pills weren't upstairs."

Larry nodded his appreciation. "Thank you, but I figured it was a long shot."

As he headed out, Natalie called to him. "Check his office at BE. He may have left them there. Honestly, I think he's been spending more time there than anywhere else."

"Thank you, Natalie," Larry said and he left.

Jack looked around. Um, I think I may go get some coffee. Does anyone need anything from the shop?" he offered. There were a lot of appreciative looks, but no takers. He took his mother's keys and headed to the car. He parked it and got out, walking to towards the coffee shop. It was then he noticed _The Banner_'s reporter, the one who he'd seen at Llanfair earlier, on the phone.

"Yes, that was what she said though she didn't elaborate. But it does sound that, at some point after he returned, he had the chip. No, she didn't say what happened to it. Yes, I will look into that. No, she doesn't suspect anything. But she knows, and I'm guessing the family knows, that Todd has been taken. It seems Todd was talking to Jack and the police commissioner when it happened. I'm sorry, I didn't anticipate him making contact with any of his family." At that, there was a long pause. "Both of them? And you have them together? How is that working out?" Another pause. "Well, I will keep you informed. I have to get going. I will talk with you soon." With that, the man ended his conversation and walked away.

Jack didn't like what he had heard from that end of the call. He was positive the guy was involved in his father's, and from the sound of it, uncle's disappearances. He wanted to run and tell his mother immediately, but he decided to wait. If he was connected, Jack thought, it was best to let him dangle there. It could lead them to Todd and Victor.

This would require a little information gathering, Jack thought. And that guy would gather it for him.


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

August, 2013

Todd lay on the bed and, as was normal, didn't sleep. Too many thought were crashing around in his mind and he couldn't even concentrate on any of them. But one bit of information stood out to him.

Victor had told him that he had not fired the gun that had "killed" his brother.

Todd could not comprehend that. Sure, he had pleaded innocence right after it had happened. He had gone right down to the LPD to give his statement. And eventually, the formal police investigation hadn't pursed him. But then, he admitted, he got sloppy. After his mother's haunting led him to remember, and Tomas began to look into him, he had begun to fall back on his old ways, acting squirrelly, unconsciously drawing attention to himself. That had led John McBain and Tea to investigate him. He really brought them down on him when he had arranged to have Tomas kidnapped and framed for the crime.

He had justified that at the time, as Tomas was with Blair and he wanted her back. David Vickers had told him she had chosen the man who had kidnapped him and the only way he saw to even the playing field was by eliminating the competition. It had worked; he and Blair had come back together, at last. And that had fallen apart when John had barged into their room and arrested him for Victor's murder. After a little bit of bail-jumping, he had been put on trial for the murder but he had been found not guilty due to a diagnosis of PTSD. It had been a desperate move his lawyer thought was a long shot, given his history of using mental illness to get out of trouble. But when the trial was over, Todd had joked to the doctor about how the excuse had worked.

The expert looked him in the eye. "Mr. Manning," he said, "that was no joke diagnosis. You are suffering from the disorder. I strongly advise that you seek medical help or else it will continue to manifest itself in other and worse ways."

At the time, a small shiver ran down his spine. But then it was forgotten, as he had received a call from a PI he had hired in Port Charles, informing him that Starr had been arrested for attempted murder. The doctor's warning all but forgotten, Todd hopped on his plane and headed north.

As he was once again imprisoned without much more than his thoughts, he went back to the night Tea had given birth. Had his mania that night been a symptom of the PTSD? Had the pressure and the guilt about Victor led him to agree to the hare-brained scheme of a true wacko? He shook his head. He didn't want to remember that night. Then, the guilt about Victor's death had nearly eaten him up. Now, the fact that Victor was alive and his son was not devoured him whole.

"You're being way too quiet," his brother's voice said.

Todd sort of wished he was alone with just his thoughts. "I'm still not getting it," he said after a long pause.

"What aren't you getting?" his twin asked.

Todd sat up and got down off the top bunk. He looked at Victor square in the eyes and asked, for the tenth time already, "How could I have not shot you?"

"Seriously, you still don't get that?" Victor asked. "You did not pull the trigger. You did not barge into my house that night. You were not in my living room. Not that tough."

"But you don't remember who it was who did pull the trigger, did barge into you house and did stand in your living room?" Todd asked, still bewildered. When Victor had told him that it was not Todd, he had harangued his brother for a good hour, trying to find out who it was. Victor appeared to have tried to recapture the memories, but in the end, could not.

"No, I don't," Victor admitted.

A nasty cackle bubbled out of Todd. Victor eyed him for a minute. "What's so funny?"

"When I jumped bail, after Starr was in the accident, McBain caught me in a courtroom, ready to shoot the guy we thought…we thought caused the accident," Todd explained. "Blair and Starr were there, as was the mobster's ex-wife and son. I'd met the chick a day before and we commiserated together over the fact we couldn't see people we cared about because of other people. Anyway, before John took me out, I asked her, 'Do you think I killed my brother?' She said she didn't know." Todd turned away from Victor. "For a minute, for not even a minute, I questioned it myself."

"How did you get off on it?" Victor asked, sounding curious.

"Why? Looking for a cover if you kill me?" Todd retorted. Then, he frowned. "I got a shrink to tell the court that I had post-traumatic stress disorder, brought on by all the bonding I spent with Mommy." He chuckled again. "The court bought it. I was free. And I thought it was all bullshit, but…now I'm thinking, what if my memory is because of the PTSD?"

"You really do need a shrink," Victor told him.

"Says the guy who nearly strangled me with his bare hands, tried to poison me and, oh, ripped the head off a stuffed giraffe," Todd catalogued. "Let's face it, we both have issues."

Victor turned towards the door. "There has got to be a way out of here," he mused, looking at it again.

"Have you tried to get out?" Todd asked.

"No, I was waiting for our brotherly reunion," he said, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Yeah, I've looked at this thing for days. It's solid steel, no locks on this side. "I've tried ramming it, unscrewing the hinges, but it won't budge."

"Here, give the former football standout a try," Todd offered. "Besides, I've broken out of prison vans, evidence closets and places that are all too similar to these accommodations." Todd gave the door a few tries, but it still wouldn't open.

The next thing he heard was a hiss that came from the ceiling. He and Victor looked up and saw a gas coming from a vent above. "What the hell?" he said.

As it continued to pump into the room, Todd began to feel sleepy. "I think they may have found a way…to overpower us," he said.

"Well, this…is new…" Victor replied as he slumped to the floor. After a few minutes, the brothers were out cold. Neither heard the door open or see who was coming in to check on them.

* * *

Blair walked to the door of Tea's condo. She had called the other woman earlier and didn't like how she had sounded on the other end. When Jack had returned, she took the keys and drove over, wanting to make sure the lawyer was okay.

Blair knew that as much as Todd's disappearance was affecting her, it was worse for Tea. At least Blair didn't worry about a manhunt for her husband or having him be labeled as armed and dangerous. But Tea had that to deal with, on top of Victor being away.

She knocked on the door and after a few minutes, it opened to a woman who looked worse for the wear. "You look terrible," Blair said. "Are you feeling alright?"

Tea stepped aside and allowed Blair entry before saying, "No. I've had, I don't know, a nervous stomach or something for a while. I'm plagued by anxiety attacks, my heart goes a mile a minute." She collapsed on the couch. "This whole situation is making me physically ill. And that's not even taking into account what I'm going through with Daniella."

"Have you seen a doctor about it?" Blair asked.

"After my panic attack at the cardio class, Dani insisted I go to the hospital. But by the time I got there, my blood pressure was fine, my heart rate was normal so they didn't do any other test."

"Come on, get dressed. I'm taking you to the hospital," Blair ordered.

"Blair, I'm fine. Just a nervous wreck." Tea replied.

"I'm not taking no for an answer," she insisted.

"I heard from Dani, just before you got here," Tea said in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

Sadly, it worked. "Did they get to Port Charles?"

"Yes, and they found the hotel. She said she and Matthew got a room and they'll stay until they find out anything. I told them to look up the owner of the MetroCourt. What was her name? Carly…"

"Carly Jacks," Blair answered.

"Yeah, she was getting close to Todd, right?" Blair's face darkened and Tea seemed to perk up. "How close did they get?"

Blair chose not to respond. "You, go get dressed. I'm taking you to the hospital."

When they got there, Blair saw Larry Wolek. "Larry, could you do a check up on Tea. She's been complaining about stomach issues, panic attacks, stuff like that."

Larry looked at Tea. "How long has this been going on?" he asked.

With a humorless laugh, she said, "Since my husband went on the run." Larry signaled nurse and told her what test to perform.

Once they walked away, Blair turned to Larry. "By the way, thank you for taking the time to talk to Jack."

Larry smiled. "I think I should be thanking him." When Blair gave him a quizzed looked, he explained. "Merrie's been dead for so long, I forget I was once a member of the Lord family. No fault of any of them. But time moves on, lives change and we tend to forget our connections with people. But talking to Jack, it made me remember Merrie and how happy we were together. It made me remember that I was once a part of that family."

"I guess it never computed for me either. I came into the family without the greatest reputation and Todd's always held himself somewhat apart from the rest of them. He's only ever been really close to Viki, maybe Jessica too. But the rest of them? He and Kevin have hated each other for years before he learned the truth and he barely tolerates Tina."

"I can promise you one thing…Merrie would have forced her way in. No way he'd have relegated himself to the outsider," he said. "She was like that and I think after she died, Viki took up that mantle." Just then, the nurse returned and signaled she had completed everything as ordered. He told her to take the samples to the lab put a rush on it and Blair headed into the cubicle Tea was in. "Larry is ordering a rush on the tests," Blair told her.

"You do realize this is all a bit ridiculous? I'm just under a load of stress and it's finally taken its toll on me," she reason. "You of all people should understand that."

"Look, I just want to be sure. If anything happens to you before Victor gets back, I don't what to hear it from him. Just like if anything happens to me, do you want to deal with Todd?" Blair asked.

Tea didn't answer but seemed to concede the point. They went to the waiting room and sat there for an hour, until Larry returned. "Tea, can I see you in private please?"

Tea turned to Blair and her sister-in-law nodded. Then, she followed the doctor into his office.

That had Blair worried. She had meant what she had said. She'd had to deal with Victor thinking he'd lost Tea once. It had been an awful time for the man and it made her realize how much Victor loved Tea. At the time, it had awakened her jealousy but also drew on her sympathy. Now, it left her at peace, finally seeing that it wasn't that 'Todd' had fallen out of love with her, but that it was the fact that Victor had never loved her. And even though Todd wasn't there, she felt his love radiating from the ring she still kept hidden on her finger.

Tea came back into the waiting area, a stunned look on her face. Blair stood up immediately, panic coming off of her. "What is it? What did Larry say?"

Tea's hand moved to her stomach. "It's not a stomach flu or even anxiety." She looked down at her belly and a smile dawned on her face. "I'm pregnant," she said, as tears welled up in her eyes.


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

August, 2013

Starr went into Llanfair's kitchen to just get away. She was becoming depressed with the lack of leads they had to even work with. They'd been over the case files Nora had brought over ten times and they hadn't tuned up anything new. While she appreciated all the help Jessica, Brody, Det. Jobek and even Natalie were giving, every moment that passed without any news made her more and more fearful of the worst.

She went to the refrigerator to look for a soda but didn't find any there that she would drink. In a moment of rage, she slammed the door and let out a scream.

"Are you alright sweetie?" a voice asked her.

She was ready to turn around and yell at her Aunt Viki. She should know how Starr was feeling. Why would she ask that stupid of a question? But then, she saw it was her Aunt Tina. Her father's voice in her head reminded her that would be the one to ask such a stupid question. "I'm fine," she replied.

"Then you like to take your frustration out on refrigerator door?" Tina questioned again.

Starr wanted to cross her arms and act like a petulant seven year old again, but she couldn't. Her face went straight from anger to tears. Tina walked over to her and enveloped her in a hug. "It'll be alright, honey. Your dad will be back," she said, soothingly. "If for no other reason than to haunt me."

Starr chuckled at that. Although Tina had been away for much of her childhood and no one really spoke fondly of her, she did appreciate her aunt's presence. While it was absolutely clear that Aunt Viki adored her father, Tina's take on Todd was much more weary, a loving big sister, but one who lived to annoy "Thank you for that," Starr said.

"Come, sit down. I'll make you a cup of tea. That'll help, right?" Tina led her to the table and then went to the stove. Starr was rather surprised to see her aunt move so deftly around the kitchen, filling the pot with hot water and putting it on the stove. When the water boiled Tina set out two cups and saucers and poured the water, letting the tea bags seep. "I know you are worried about Todd."

"I'm getting more worried about my mom. She's been through this before and I know the last time, it nearly killed her," Starr said.

Tina nodded. "But she knew she was having his baby and that gave her comfort, Starr," Tina told her. "Your father will come home. I promise you that."

"Of course he is," Jack said, coming in. "We'll never be rid of him."

Starr was usually ready to jump down Jack's throat for any comment he made about their father, but she saw the glint in Jack's eye. It was the same teasing look Todd bad. That put her at ease. "Now we need to just reassure Mom," she said.

Natalie and Jessica came in then just then. "Hey, Mom was looking for you," the blonde said.

"Oh, Starr just needed some time alone," Tina explained.

"Yeah, thank you for that," Starr replied.

Natalie's eyebrows went up to her hairline. "Aunt Tina comforted you?"

"I was just telling her about when Todd was thought to be lost in Ireland. He came back from that. He'll always come back for his family and Blair especially," Tina said.

Natalie looked to Jessica. "Didn't you hate that Todd was your brother and that he was married to Blair? From the stories I heard, that was the impression I always got."

"Yeah, I remember when Mom told me that they had gotten remarried, you threw out the word 'exorcism'" Jessica added.

Starr and Jack moved their attention back to Tina. Instead of their aunt looking uncomfortable by the reminder, Tina admitted flat out, "Yes, I hated that Blair married him. But I was right for my reasons."

"Because he had learned he was Victor Lord's heir, right?" Starr asked. She was remembering the story now.

"Yes, it was because of that. She did just marry him for his money. Trust me, I know that scam," Tina said. Then, after an exaggerated sigh, she said, "Because I did something similar with Cord."

Starr narrowed her eyes. "You did?"

Tina nodded and looked quite proud of herself. "I found out that Cord was Clint's son by one of Asa's maids. Asa didn't approve of the idea of a half-Mexican grandchild and sent the woman away. Cord came to Llanview to look up his mother's old 'friend' and I put the pieces together."

"Much like Mom put the pieces together that Todd Manning and Irene Manning could be related," Starr responded.

"And then when I did get the proof, I may have rushed Cord down the aisle to share in his windfall. And then I was presumed dead, came back, we remarried a few more times, the last without our children there, and well…" Tina's voice trailed off.

"So the reason you've hated Mom all these years is, she stole all the moves from your playbook," Jack surmised.

Tina looked thoughtful for a minute, then nodded her head, a wicked smile on her face. "And much like Cord and I, Blair loves your father deeply. And that love will sustain her when he can't be here." With that, she left.

"Words of wisdom…from Tina Lord Roberts?" Natalie asked, perplexed.

Jessica went over to the refrigerator and pulled out the orange juice. As she poured herself a glass, she said, "You know the saying. A broken clock is right twice a day."

Starr smiled at that thought. That broken clock had given her back her hope.

* * *

When Todd awoke, he found himself on the lower bed. He sat up immediately and looked around. He was still in the same room. Tentatively, he called out, "Victor?" He was answered by a low moan. Todd stood up and looked at the top bunk. Victor was rubbing his eyes obviously waking up himself.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I think they may have pumped in some knockout gas," Todd guessed. "They must have figured it was the only way to come in without us rushing them."

"How long have we been out?"

Todd shook his head. "I have no idea, but I figure it's been a while." Todd looked to the door again. "We have got to find a way out of here." He heard the panic rise in his own voice.

Victor must have caught onto it too. "Alright, calm down." He actually showed a measure of concern for Todd. "We'll get out of here." Victor went back to the door. "What's come over you?"

Todd put his hand to his forehead. "I think the quack was right. I don't know, I'm just getting anxious for some reason. My head's…my head is getting noisy again."

"Noisy, what do you mean?"

Todd closed his eyes, trying to settle on a mental image. "Starr was singing up in a club in Port Charles and when she was going to make her debut, Blair came up. After the show, we went back to my hotel room. I had arranged a romantic dinner…candlelight, good wine. I told Blair then and there that she quieted the voices in my head…she has the power to calm me down. And now, I feel…I feel it slipping away."

Victor looked to his brother. "That was the first clue to me."

"What was?"

"I remember all the times when I went searching for that. I had the memory of the calming effect. And I never found it, not with Blair. Not even with Tea, to be honest." Todd opened his eyes and look at his twin. "Don't get me wrong, I sense a connection with Tea, but it was never anything like that."

"When did you realize that?" Todd asked.

Victor looked to be searching his own memories for a minute. "I never felt it. Even when I first got to Llanview. I saw Blair, I felt there were feelings there, but there was something missing." Then he looked at Todd. "Until you just said it, I couldn't even put it into words."

"I was so lost for a time there. I felt like I was being drugged. Blair was all set to get married and I came back and told her her fiancé wasn't who he said he was. Turned out, the guy shared the same face as an international arms dealer. And I could see she believed me, I could see it in her face. And I went back to Port Charles, fully confident that she'd be right behind me," Todd said, caught up in the memories. "And she never came." Then he shook his head. "But again, being around her, I was calm and at peace. I barely even registered the cat fight she got into with Skye Chandler Quartermaine."

"Skye Chandler…that shrink's daughter? She hooked herself up with another guy?" Victor asked.

"No, she thought Dr. Alan Quartermaine of the New York Quartermaines was he father. Even after it was proven false, he adopted her. But she was involved with this guy that had the same face as Blair's moronic boyfriend and she same to help me prove it was indeed the same guy," Todd explained. "Anyway, I was calm again. And, like, the minute I got back, the noises started up again."

"You should just marry her again," Victor said almost derisively. Then, he added, "You really should."

Todd smiled again. In his mind, he saw Blair's face as she took his hand and slipped on a wedding band. "We did."

"You did what?" Victor asked.

"We did get married," he replied feeling that calm he always felt with Blair in his life. "Just before I left, she wanted us to get remarried. I…I didn't want to," Todd said, catching his brother's look. "It wasn't because I didn't love her or want to be with her…"

"It was because you were afraid for her," Victor finished. "I know the feeling. Tea wanted to know what was going on, demanded I give her answers. I couldn't."

"What happened, Victor? Why did you run?" Todd asked. Victor didn't answer and Todd's voice got louder. "Victor, talk to me. Like it or not, we have to work together."

Victor let out a breath as be began to unburden himself. "There was a guy that I saw in the coffee shop. He had the same tattoo that I was branded with."

Todd saw he was finally getting somewhere. He reached for his brother's wrist and pushed up his sleeve. "I've had run-ins with this symbol."

"The guy was probably after me," he replied, seemingly trance like. "I had to get out, get out soon." Then, as if hearing his brother's words, he said, "You've seen this symbol?"

Todd let out a humorless laugh. "I knew you were alive before you barged into the argument I was having with Delgado. Why did you think I punched you?"

"Cause you love me so much?"

Todd held up his brother's arm. "I got a message about you on a note, with this symbol," Todd said, pointing to the tattoo. "And they wanted me to finish what I started."

Victor seemed to see a pattern. "He was there to do the job if you didn't."

"Maybe," Todd replied. "Someone wants you dead, brother. Someone who's actually not me, but they want me to do the dirty work." Todd leveled his gaze at his brother.

"Then we need to figure out who that is," Victor said, meeting the stare and smiling, a mirror image of his twin.


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

August, 2013

As Blair, Tea and Larry approached the front door of Llanfair, Tea turned to the others. "Look, please don't say anything about…." She put her hand on her stomach.

Blair saw the look in her eyes and nodded. She understood that, while Tea may have passed the crucial stage of the pregnancy, she and the family were all under a lot of stress. After what happened last year, Blair understood that Tea wasn't taking any chances. They walked into Llanfair and proceeded into the library.

Viki looked up at her in-laws. "Tea, how are you feeling? Blair told us you've had a stomach bug?"

Tea nodded. "Yes, but I'm actually feeling better, thank you for asking."

Viki then turned her attention to Larry. "Did you ever find Clint's medication?"

"That was why I came here," he said as Natalie, Jessica, Jack and Starr returned from the kitchen. Tina and Cord also appeared and Larry informed them, "The pills were in his desk at his BE office. But there was a problem with them." He took a folder out his briefcase and paged through it. "He's supposed to be on an anti-rejection medicine for his heart transplant, correct?"

"Yes," Viki answered. "Ciclosporin, I believe."

"That was not what the pills I found were," Larry told her.

"What?" Natalie's voice was heard.

"He was taking pills, but they weren't for his heart. All I can see is, it was for the neurological centers," Larry said. "I can't even tell you what it is exactly. The hospital's pharmacist has never seen this compound before."

"Do they have any idea what it could be for?" Jessica asked as she and her sister came over and read the file with their mother.

"Best guess, and it's just that, a guess, but it could have something to do with mental states," Larry replied. The room offered him a variety of confused looks as he struggled to explain further. "It could heighten paranoia, anxiety, make the patient more susceptible to reasoning. A sample is being sent to the FDA for further testing."

"How long has he been taking it?" Viki asked.

"Well, from the looks of it, I'd say at least eight months, probably longer."

Cord pulled Larry aside and asked him more questions, but Blair caught a look in Starr's eye. "What are you thinking?"

Starr looked up quickly, like a deer caught in the headlights. "It's really far off, Mom," she said.

Jack let out a short laugh. "The last time you came up with an off the wall theory, you were proven right."

Starr turned to her brother and then back to Blair. "Look, when I was up in Port Charles with Dad, he was acting…weirder than normal. There was definitely some paranoia going on and he was just…different." She offered her mother a sympathetic look. "When he got back after stopping your wedding, he was certain you'd come back to him soon. I even called him on it and he said something like, 'what's that obvious?'" And then, all of a sudden, he was on TV declaring his love to Carly Jacks. Even Michael thought it was strange. We didn't even know they'd gotten like that. But it was that kind of bizarre behavior."

Blair processed what her daughter was saying. "Starr, your dad has always been a touch paranoid…" 

"I know that, but this…this was over the top, even by his standards," she said.

"You think he could have been fed whatever Clint was drugged with?" Jack asked.

"I know it sounds crazy…"

Jack shook his head. "No crazier than the identical twin brother who look nothing alike."

Blair looked pensive and it must have attracted Tea's attention. The lawyer came over and inquired about what they were talking about. When Starr finished, Tea inhaled deeply. "The night…the night I gave birth, Todd was in a full on meltdown. Laughing manically, unable to concentrate, things like that."

"And when he confessed to me about the switch, he told me that woman in the woods, Heather Webber, it took a lot of work on her part to convince Dad to go along with it," Starr told them. Her eyes slid towards her brother and she said, "He'd done something like that before. One thing about Dad, he doesn't really screw up the same way twice."

Tea and Blair walked over to Larry, who was still speaking with Cord. "Larry, sorry to interrupt. This drug, it could be found in the blood stream?" Blair asked.

"Yes. I'm having tests run. We know that Clint hasn't had his anti-rejection meds, now I'm having his blood sample tested again the pills I found."

Tea was on the phone before he finished his sentence. "Starr, was he hospitalized at all while he was in Port Charles?" Starr indicated yes and then the other end of the call seemed to pick up. "Dani, I need you to go to General Hospital in the morning. I'll send over an affidavit if needed, but I need your father's hospital records from," she looked to Starr.

Starr thought quickly. "It was late January or early February."

"Late January, early February. All test that were run at that point. I'd assume they'd do a blood test on him," Tea said. "You'll be leaving in the afternoon? Okay, have you found anything out?" There was a long pause and Blair could hear Dani on the other end. "And she's sure? Okay, I'll let Bo know. We'll see you tomorrow." She ended the call and turned to Blair. "Dani said she spoke to the hotel manager, Olivia Falconari. She said she remembered someone dropping off packages for Todd. Usually, Todd would ignore them, but the last time, she was asked to slip a note under the door of his room."

Blair looked at Tea for a minute. "Does she know what the courier looked like?"

"The woman didn't give a firm description, but said he was a young, African-American man, clean cut and business-like. Kept telling her he was trying to make contact with Todd, looking for a job at the _Port Charles Sun_." Then Tea went over to Larry. "I just wanted to let you know, Dani's going to get Todd's hospital records from when he was in Port Charles. Starr has a suspicion that whatever drug was being given to Clint may have also been given to Todd."

Larry looked to Starr. "What was he acting like?"

"He was definitely acting manic. Half the time, he didn't even make any sense. My dad may do crazy stuff, but he's more calculating about it," Starr said.

Larry nodded and turned to Tea. "If Dani has any problems getting the medical records, please call me. I can say I'm his doctor, he's been admitted and I need his complete medical history." He looked at his watch. "I have some things I need to check on at the hospital. Let me know when Dani gets back." With that he left.

"I think I'll be going too," Tea said, sending a knowing look to Blair, who nodded. "If I hear anything else from Dani, I'll let you know."

After Tea was gone, Blair turned and saw Viki sitting on the couch reading the report Larry had made. She went over to sit down next to her. "How are you holding up?" she asked.

"I can't help thinking that I may have pushed him into this," Viki said.

"Oh, Viki, why do you think that?"

She looked at the report again. "I should have just accepted his generosity with the whole Pellegrino debacle. But, as always, my pride got in the way. And he reacted, like I would think a Buchanan would react. Then with what he did in Natty's name, it just further pissed me off. So I broke the engagement. I felt I had to. And that only drove him over the cliff faster."

"Viki, this was being done to him before any of that happened. Larry said it had to have been for at least, what, eight months?' she asked, putting her hand on the other woman's shoulder.

"And yet, I do," she replied. Then she looked at Starr and Jack in conversation. "Starr thinks something similar was being done to Todd?"

Blair's gaze turned to her daughter. "Todd's behavior all last year was erratic to begin with. I don't know if it's true, but we don't have much to go on." Then, she looked back to Viki.

"Do you know how many times I wanted to pick up the phone and call him? I was so worried about him being alone. He's never been good alone in the world," she said, a sad smile on her face. "And I just couldn't. I couldn't get over my…disappointment. Not even in the murder charge, but him the fact that he felt he couldn't come to me."

"I know the feeling. And after Cole and Hope…he vowed to me, then and there, that he'd never stop trying to put us back together. He said those exact words. And what did I do?" A humorless laugh bubbled out of her. "Maybe someone should have me tested for that drug. I can't even remember what I even saw in Tomas. It was more, trying to get him out of my mind than anything else." Then she looked at Viki. "Did I ever tell you, he proposed to me in Port Charles?"

Viki smiled at her. "No you didn't."

"Yes, we had dinner after Starr's concert and he assumed that my being there alone meant that I wanted to get back together with him," she explained. "And I told him I was getting married to another man. I showed him the ring and he bitched about it being too small. And he challenged me to tell him I loved Tomas and that I didn't love him." She looked at Viki, who offered her a sympathetic look. "I couldn't…I could not tell him I didn't love him. I've loved him longer than even I've acknowledged." There were tears in her eyes as she asked, "Why didn't I say yes then? We would have had more time together!"

"You will have all the time in the world, Blair. We'll find him. Todd has come back from the dead for you, more than once. And I know my brother. He's fighting to get back to you now," Viki said.

In her heart, Blair knew this. Todd had fought back from massive injuries to come back to her. He'd fought his own cynical heart. He'd fought through eight years of torture. He never stopped fighting to get back to her. She sat upright and smiled at Viki. "Thank you for that."

"Any time, darling." Then the clock chimed and Viki looked at her watch. "Would you like to stay for dinner? Dorian's still out of town, right?"

Blair looked over and saw that Jessica and Natalie had brought their children down. She thought of Sam, who'd been at his friends all day. "Thank you for the offer, but I want to get home with my kids. Try to offer them some normalcy." She got up and began rounding up Jack and Starr. "But, we'll be back in the morning."

Viki nodded. "Alright, we'll see you then."

Blair made a stop to pick up Sam then they all decided to get Chinese takeout. Once that was picked up, the headed back to La Boulaie. They ate and were cleaning up when a voice boomed through the house. "Darlings, I'm back!" Dorian's voice called.

Blair's expression widened and was mirrored by her two elder children. "Wasn't she supposed to be back a few days from now?" Starr asked.

Blair nodded as Dorian sashayed in. "Hello, my darlings," she said, then noticed Starr. "Starr, dear, what are you doing back? I thought you were having a wonderful time in Los Angeles?"

Starr didn't know what to say, but Jack, surprisingly answered. "We had a family crisis and thought she should be back for it. What are you doing back early?"

"Carl was called away on urgent business and since he was unsure of how long it would take, I told him I had been away too long as it was," Dorian explained.

Blair took the pause in the conversation and looked to Sam and said, "Why don't you go upstairs and get out some books for storytime?"

"Is there going to be a grownup talk?" Sam asked grumpily.

"Yes, there is," Blair admitted, sending her youngest son upstairs.

"There was a crisis and no one call me?" Dorian asked, her face growing angry.

"It was a crisis with the Lord family," Blair informed her.

"Oh." That seemed to perk Dorian up. "Is the paper being shut down?"

"It had nothing to do with _The Banner_," Jack said curious why she'd think it was _The Banner_. "My father was kidnapped!"

Blair was taken aback by how emotional Jack was when he said that. But it didn't seem to faze Dorian. "Kidnapped? Or did he screw up again and run away?" She turned back to Blair. "The smartest thing you did was dump that ne'er do well. No matter how much Viki thinks he's a poor innocent." She turned and headed for the foyer.

Something snapped in Blair. She knew Dorian and Todd had never and would never get along. Dorian saw Todd was little better than his father and Todd never had gotten over any number of things Dorian had pulled to keep them apart. In a low voice, she whisper, "Go upstairs and pack overnight bags." When neither moved, she repeated herself, stressing to her children that she meant it. Jack and Starr hastened up the stairs.

She headed into the living room and closed the door. Still facing that way, she said, "I've had to do a lot of thinking in the last few day. All the time that Todd and I have been apart. And we're both to blame for most of that. We've lied to each other, our priorities weren't where they should have been. We've come together and been torn apart," she began, "A few days ago, Jack was talking to his father over a video conference. Bo was there. And while the connection was up, masked men came in and shot Todd with a stun gun. A subsequent investigation has been launched about not only that, but the fact that people Todd loves are being targeted to make Todd jump through hoops."

Dorian sat there and said, "You're serious?" By the look Blair gave her, she didn't need an answer.

"I have been trying to keep it together for my children. I have been trying to keep it away from Sam. I will not have you shoot you mouth off about the father of my children," she said. "I will not have you speak like that about my husband."


	21. Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

August, 2013

Jack had thrown a few days' worth of clothes into his bag and went to do the same for Sam. "Where's your Spiderman suitcase?" he asked.

"Why do you need my suitcase?" Sam asked, getting off his bed and going into his closet.

"I think Mom's about to blow up against Aunt Dorian and won't want herself or any of us to stick around for the fallout." He took the bag and repeated the task he had just done for himself. "I don't think it'll be more than a few days."

"Where are we going to go?" was the next question.

"I don't think Mom's thinking that far ahead," Jack admitted. "You got any toys you want to bring? Tell me now."

Sam looked pensive for a minute. "There's my Spiderman Web Shooter. I don't want to leave that behind." Jack looked around the room until Sam told him he'd left in in Dorian's office.

After grumbling about Sam being in places he shouldn't be, he ordered his brother to stay in his room until Jack returned. Heading down the back stairs he went into the office and searched around the room. The desk was a mess and in shifting papers and files looking for the toy, a number of them fell on the floor. Grunting some more, Jack bent over to pick them up. While he was under the desk he found the Web Shooter and he reached over to grab it.

That was when the name jumped out at him – Pellegrino. He had seen the articles _The Sun_ had been running on the financial state of _The Banner_. It was all very subdued for the competition, but he figured Todd wasn't competitive enough to rub Aunt Viki's misfortunes in her face so publicly. He opened the file and had to do a double take. It looked like a lot of lawmaker jargon, but it made mention of SEC code and open investigations. Why would Aunt Dorian have this information? She was on the Intelligence Committee if he remembered correctly. He decided to take the file and look it over more closely when they got to wherever they were going to.

Instead of going back the way he came, he headed out to the foyer and up the main stairs. That was when he heard two voices. It was his mother and Dorian's and neither sounded happy.

"I'm sorry, but I must have misheard you," Dorian said.

Blair leveled a gaze at her. "No, you didn't," she replied. "You will not say a word against my husband."

Dorian seemed to blanch when she repeated herself. Then she shook her head. "No, please tell me you did not…did not remarry…" she stuttered.

Blair approached her slowly and then, standing inches from her, removed the gold ring she wore over her wedding band.

"Now I know you're lying. Todd Manning would have never gotten you a ring like that!" Dorian proclaimed.

"I don't need any diamond to symbolize the love I have for Todd," Blair informed her. "I came to tell you that I'm taking the kids and leaving tonight."

"Why? For pointing out what a psycho that man is?" Dorian yelled, her voice getting shriller.

"My kids are right now traumatized by what happened to their father. And you, no surprise, are no help. I get that you can't stand Todd, but Starr, Jack and Sam love him and they need to be in an environment that loves Todd too." With that, she turned her heals and headed for the door.

"So, you're going to go to Llanfair?" Dorian asked derisively.

"I will see if we can stay with Viki. If not, we'll go to the Palace," Blair said. She opened the door and found Jack standing outside. She wanted to be annoyed he had eavesdropped on her, but the false bravado she had just displayed washed out of her. Wordless, he made his way up the stairs, followed by her. Fifteen minutes later, all four were downstairs and piled into the car.

"Do you think Aunt Viki will even put us up?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," Blair answered. But she was not surprised to see Viki very generously opening her home to Blair and the children. Sam was put to bed and Jack decided to turn in. Starr plunked herself in the library and wanted to go over the files again, even though she admitted she probably wouldn't find anything else.

Viki offered to make Blair a cup of tea and Blair was thoughtful enough to grab a bottle bourbon to add to it.

Viki eyed her sister-in-law. "That bad?"

"I want to apologize. I went back on our deal," Blair said, pouring a finger of bourbon into the teacup as Viki brought the water to a boil. Then she looked at the older woman. "I told Dorian about Todd and I."

"Oh dear," Viki replied, her face taking on its typical 'Dorian' look.

"Yeah, she made a comment. It wasn't even the worst one she could have come up with. But, I don't know, I think my nerves are just frayed over all this that it hit me wrong. I told her she was not to speak of the father of my children that way, speak of my husband that way," Blair remembered with a chuckle. "She didn't believe me. She may still not. I told her and just walked out. I can't deal with it anymore." Viki pour the water and Blair took a sip, finally feeling relaxed. "I had actually been thinking about finding a place so that when we did get Todd back, he wouldn't have to step foot into La Boulie."

"Well, it's not La Boulaie, but for the time being, I could have you stay in the carriage house. It's not that I'm throwing you out, but it would be a little more private, if you'd like that better," Viki offered.

It actually sounded like a good idea. Her kids weren't on top of everyone else in Llanfair and it would contain the inevitable visit from Dorian to not escalate into the main house. She nodded her head in thanks.

Now, she had to put her focus back on finding Todd.

The door opened again. Two voices could be heard. "Yeah, it's better that they used the gas on them when it's night time," Voice One said.

"Just put the food on the table," Voice Two ordered. "I don't like being in here with them after the stories I've heard."

"Ah, they're out like lights. Besides, how much damage could the do really? I mean, they one up top is kinda scrawny to begin with," One replied.

"He killed one of ours with his bare hands," Two retorted. "Just get a move on."

Todd realized it was now or never. Opening his eyes, he and Victor, in perfectly timed unity, leapt off the bunk and tackled the guards. One was so caught off guard, he never saw Todd's body as he was slammed to the floor. Two, a little more cautious, put up a little more of a fight, but several blows of Victor's fists stopped him. He checked the guy and found his sidearm, while Todd grabbed the rifle the other one had.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Todd said and Victor nodded in agreement. They hurried out the door and over to the opposite wall. Victor peeked around the corner, and not seeing anyone, signaled Todd, who moved ahead. They leapfrogged each other for a few more turns until they heard an all too familiar voice.

"I don't know why you showed up here. I have everything under control," Allison Perkins could be heard.

Neither brother heard the reply but sensed them approaching. Victor looked around and saw what appeared to be a closet. He waved Todd in but the other man didn't move at first. Victor had to haul him in under protest. They got cover just before Allison and her companion passed by.

"What the hell was that for?" Todd asked, pissed off.

"It's too risky," Victor said.

"I was trying to figure out who her partner is!"

"And you would have given us away!" Victor retorted. He opened the door and, finding no one outside, signaled to Todd. Todd moved out of the closet and down to the next corner. Around it, he saw an exit sign. He gave thumbs up and Victor moved next to him. Todd counted down from three and Victor headed to the door. He had his hand on the knob when a shot rang out. He turned around and saw his twin on the floor, clutching his knee.

Todd looked up and saw Victor. "Just go!" he yelled, his face contorted in pain.

Victor looked at the door and back at Todd. He was maybe ten feet away. Victor was about to leave when he thought of Blair. He turned back and fired his gun behind Todd's position. He must have hit someone, because he heard a cry and the firing stopped. Then he rushed to Todd and pulled his brother's arm around his neck. "Can you walk?" Victor asked.

"You're risking yourself, you idiot," Todd answered as he was put upright.

"I'd be risking myself if I left you, brother," he answered looking Todd in the eye.

Todd got the meaning and nodded. "Don't want Blair…under arrest for shooting anyone again," he said with a grimace.

Together, they made it out the door. It opened to a large parking lot on a dawning morning. Victor went to an older Accord and, using his elbow, broke the passenger side window. He got the door open and threw Todd in, who yelped in pain. Then he made his way to the other side and repeated the action. Getting in, he looked under the steering wheel. He grabbed at the wires and after a few tries, the car started. With that, they were off.

Todd was a little surprised to see the outside of their prison. There were no guards around, no one armed expect the two inside. It was disquieting but he put it out of his head for a minute. Once they were on a main road, Todd said to him, "We need to figure out where the hell we are in the first place."

"We need to get you to a hospital in the first place," Victor told him. "Look, where a few miles outside of Buffalo. That's a start."

"It's nothing that…a melon baller…can't fix," Todd grunted out. "You've got…an arrest warrant out for you. If you have to…just drop me outside…the emergency room."

Victor shook his head. "You said Tea even wants me brought into custody. Trust me, I know how to play this."

Victor managed to find his way to the Sisters of Charity Hospital. He pulled up next to the door for the ER and hoisted Todd out of the car. Going in, he yelled, "Help, my brother's been shot."

A doctor and three nurses came scurrying over. "When did it happen?" the doctor asked.

"Within the hour," Victor asked as Todd was put on the stretcher. As the rushed him to a cubicle, Victor gave them further information.

The doctor nodded and then said, "Sir, you're going to have to stay here."

But Victor wasn't having any of it. "I'm staying with my brother," he said in a deathly calm.

"Sir, we need to get him into surgery to remove the bullet," the doctor insisted.

Victor walked around to next to Todd. Todd gave him a puzzled look. "Victor, what the hell are you doing?"

Victor didn't answer him. Instead, he pulled the gun he had since the escape. In a calm voice he said. "You call Victoria Lord, Llanfair estate, Llanview, Pennsylvania. Tell her her brother has been admitted to the hospital. Call Bo Buchanan at the Llanview PD. When they get here, I will leave my brother's side. But not a minute before then."


	22. Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

August, 2013

Blair figured she'd get the kids up and moved into the Llanfair carriage house later in the morning. With the exception of Sam, they'd all gotten to bed kind of late and she wanted them to sleep in on what she figured would be another long day. But as it turned out, Jack and Starr hadn't slept a wink the night before but were up with the rest of the family. Jack had turned in early, but sleep was elusive. Starr kept going back over files and reports all night. It was only when the rest of the house was stirring that the Mannings joined in.

Blair had to admit that she enjoyed the stunned look Tina gave her when the redhead came down for breakfast. Détente or no, she could still see Tina's annoyance with her presence in the family and it made her smile. But Tina held her tongue, which actually made her like her nemesis sister-in-law better than her own aunt at the moment.

As Blair was finishing her second cup of coffee the phone rang. Tina jumped up immediately and answered it. "Hold on," she said, turning to her sister. "Viki, it's a very nervous sounding man wanting to talk to you."

Viki took the phone. "Victoria Lord…yes…what?" she exclaimed. "When? What's his condition? Yes, yes. Please, let me talk to him." Blair's gaze grew hopeful, especially when she heard Viki say, "Victor…Victor let the doctor's help Todd. We'll be up as soon as we can. Yes, we'll bring Tea along. Victor please…Please, my brothers have been through an ordeal. You can until we arrive? Yes, please help him as much as you can. We'll see you soon." Then she ended the call. "Todd and Victor are in a hospital in Buffalo, New York," she said, stunned.

"When did they get there? How did they get there?" Blair asked.

"Victor wouldn't say, but he's not allowing the doctors do anything without him present," Viki answered.

"What happened?" Blair asked, fear creeping into her voice.

"He was shot when they made their escape," she said as the phone rang again. "Bo, yes we just got the call. I don't know, but Victor's either being overly cautious or highly paranoid. He wants Tea to come as well. Okay, well see you all then." She turned back to the family. "Bo got a call from the hospital as well. He going to pick up Tea and meet us at the airport. We'll take the Buchanan jet up."

"I'm coming with you," Blair said getting up from the table.

"And so am I," Starr added.

"Me to," Jack up in.

Viki nodded to all of them. "Tina, stay here. If we find out anything, we'll let you know."

"And keep an eye on Sam," Blair said over her shoulder.

They all arrived at the airport as Tea and Bo pulled up. The other woman looked to be near tears. "Is it true?" she asked.

Blair nodded, saying, "Viki spoke to Victor herself. But he seems to have a gun on the doctors. He won't let them treat Todd."

"Treat Todd?" Tea asked.

"Viki only got a little bit, but Todd…Todd was shot," Blair said. "And Victor's not letting the doctors near him for some reason."

Tea grabbed Blair in hug. Then they made their way onto the plane. Once they were airborne, Tea said, "I got in touch with Dani. When they're done, she and Matthew will meet us there."

It was a rather quick flight and the Buffalo police met them at the airport. As they hurried the family to the hospital, Bo said to them, "I'll be honest, I don't like the sound of Victor's mental state, so I don't want us rushing in there."

They got to the hospital and Blair forgot all about what Bo had just said. "I'm Blair Manning, my brother-in-law called…"

"Blair?" she heard her name being yelled.

"Todd?" She ran towards the sound and saw Victor standing beside Todd's bed. "Todd!" She didn't think anything of the situation and ran to her husband. Following her was Tea, yelling for Victor. When he heard his wife's voice, he handed the gun over and ran to her.

But Blair wasn't worried about them. "What happened?" she asked through her tears.

"We escaped and I got shot," Todd said. She could tell he was in pain but he was smiling broadly. Then, when he heard the two shouts of 'Dad' it only grew.

Blair looked up and saw Starr and Jack standing there. She got up and away before Starr launched herself at her father. "Oh, Dad!" she cried.

"Hey, Shorty," he whispered. "Shhh, it's alright."

Jack walked over and Todd shifted Starr to one side as Jack slide onto the other. Blair was shocked to see her son, in tears, in his father's arms.

"We were so worried. That video…" Jack said.

"Hey, I'm alright," Todd told them.

It was then that the doctor came over. "I'm guessing you're his family?"

"Yes, I'm…I'm his wife," Blair said proudly.

"Mr. Manning needs to get into surgery to remove the bullet. It's lodged in his knee and it could have become infected since we were not allowed to remove it because of his brother," the doctor said.

"Well, my doctor is here. Anyone got a melon baller available?" Todd asked.

The doctor gave Blair a confused look, but Blair waved it off. "Yes, please, take him to surgery." With a kiss from Starr and a meaningful look from Jack, Blair moved over to the bed and gave Todd a passionate kiss that made him happy he was lying down for. They moved into the waiting room and came upon Victor, Tea, Bo and Viki.

"How is Todd?" his twin asked.

"I think he'll be fine," Blair answered. "They took him into surgery just now."

Victor nodded and turned to Bo. "I'm ready to be taken into custody now," he said.

Bo looked him over carefully. "We can wait until Todd's out of surgery. Right now, I'm more interested in how the two of you got here in the first place." He pulled out a chair and Victor sat down. Bo took his handcuffs and attached him to the chair. "It's just a precaution."

Before he began, Tea spoke up. "He should be mirandized first," the lawyer in her said.

"This can be off the record for now. It has nothing to do with the charges he's facing," Bo answered. Tea was about to make a retort, but held her tongue and nodded her agreement.

Victor took an hour to explain the last few days. Starting from when he had been joined by his brother, he detailed their escape, including Todd's shooting. He looked to Blair. "He wanted me to leave him to get out. But, I was too scared of facing you if I did that."

Blair appreciated the thought. "Thank you so much."

As Victor finished his story, the doors opened and Dani and Matthew ran in. "Victor!" she cried and ran to embrace him. "Mom called and told me…I didn't believe her…are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so. We're just, we're just waiting for word on your father," he answered.

"What happened to Todd? Mom just told us to come here."

"He was shot while they were escaping. The doctors don't think it's too serious, but he's in surgery now," Viki informed her.

It was another half-hour before the doctor returned to tell them the surgery was a success. "He's being moved to recovery, so you should be able to see him shortly."

Bo looked to Victor. "I have to take you into custody now." Victor nodded, as Bo said to Matthew, "Can we go back with you, or are you going to stay here?

Matthew looked to Dani, who said, "I think I'll stay here. You go back with your father."

"You sure?" Matthew asked.

"He's my father," Dani replied. Blair caught the look that passed between her and Victor, but he nodded at that.

"Okay, Tea, do you want to come back with us?" Bo asked.

"Yes, I think it's for the best," Tea answered.

"Hold on, I got that file you wanted," Dani said, reaching into her bag and pulling it out. "What's up with it anyway?"

"We found out that Clint Buchanan was being drugged and Dad…Dad was acting way crazier than normal when we were up in Port Charles last year," Starr said. "Larry Wolek wants to compare Dad's labs against Clint's, see if he was being slipped the same drug."

"We'll see that Larry get the records," Bo answered as he led Victor away

A nurse returned and told the Todd could have visitors. Viki looked to Blair. "You go ahead, we'll wait. I know you need to see him the most."

Blair followed the nurse into the room and Blair saw Todd laying in the bed with his eyes closed. It broke her heart to see him even like this. But when she crossed over to him and touched her fingers to his scar, his eyes opened and he smiled at her. "I thought for a minute there I was dreaming."

"So did I," she replied as a tear fell down her cheek. She bent down to kiss him. Viki and the kids are going to want to see you," she told him. "Except Sam, they're all here, Starr, Jack and Dani."

"Dani came?" Todd asked a bit surprised.

"She was actually in Port Charles. We were following up a lead, about the note you got when you were still up here," Blair explained. "And she also got your hospital records from when you were in General Hospital."

"Why would you need my hospital records?" Todd asked.

"It's a long story and I'll tell you in a little bit. But you should really get some rest," she said. She kissed him again, vowing to never stop. When she pulled back, she asked him, "Right now, I am so happy I have you back. I never want to lose you again. Is this what that means? Does this mean it's all over?"

Todd took her hand and kissed it then gave her a melancholy look. "No. And unfortunately, I think it's about to get much worse."


	23. Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

August, 2013

The doctors insisted on keeping Todd overnight for observation. He wanted to just go home and be with the family he had missed. But Blair overruled him and he reluctantly agreed. When Todd had been moved to a regular room, Viki and the kids were able to see him.

He could tell his sister was relieved to see he was alright by her tone of voice. "The next time you have to leave town, please, please give me a reason why. You do know how many people were unaware they were even in danger?"

"That was why I had to leave town, Viki," he said. "To not put any of you up as targets…not even Natalie.

"But you could have warned us," she replied. She didn't want to lecture him but that was what it was turning into and Todd seemed to be reveling in it. "You're enjoying this a bit, aren't you?"

"Well, I know you'd only lecture me because you loved me, so, yeah, I guess."

Viki bestowed a long-suffering, but genial, smile on him. "What am I going to do with you?" She kissed the top of his head. "I love you and I am so happy you're well and safe."

"Well, yes. Safe, I'm not so sure of that," he said. Then he turned to Blair. "You haven't told me why Dani had to get my medical records from Port Charles."

Blair's gaze drifted between Dani and Starr and she allowed her daughter to explain. "I was told that when Clint was admitted to Llanview Hospital, after he had that breakdown at the dinner…" she began.

"Which I missed," Todd grumbled. "What was _The Sun_'s headline for it? Probably not as good as something I'd have come up with." He shifted his eyes to Viki and was bestowed with an eye roll.

"After the breakdown," Starr repeated, drawing the attention back to her, "they ran tests and found out he hadn't had his heart medication for a while. Dr. Wolek checked the pills and found that they weren't his prescription for his heart, but some unknown substance that affected his mind. When Larry listed the strange changes in personality, it reminded me of some of your strange behavior when we were in Port Charles."

"Strange? Like what?" Todd asked.

"You faked a heart attack and then wrapped yourself in duct tape," she reminded him. "Then there was the bizarre testimony you gave at your trial. I'd have thought you were going for an insanity defense." She sat on the bed and took his hand. "I know you're a little off the wall, but you're usually more cunning about it. But you were ping ponging back and forth, optimistic about Mom coming back to you, proclaiming your love to someone who you barely knew, depressed about losing your family. And that's not you. You keep everything in and by the end of our stay…you'd become a complete stranger to me." She laid her head against his chest and he wrapped his arm around her. After a minute, she sat up again.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry if I scared you, Shorty. I just felt like I'd lost everything for a time there and I…I didn't know how to cope," he told her.

"But what made you think that?" Jack asked. "Starr thinks that you may have been given the same drugs they used on Clint. She thinks that may explain all your odd behavior."

"Okay, Jack, why don't we table this until tomorrow. Your dad's recovering from surgery and the doctors told him to rest," Blair said.

"Yes, I think that's a good idea," Viki agreed. "Why don't we see about getting a hotel room for the night and we'll come back tomorrow, see if they're releasing you."

"Oh, they're releasing me, alright," he muttered. Jack and Starr each went up and said good night to him.

Dani hung back and when she said her goodbyes, it was an awkward, "I'm glad you and Victor are both alright." Todd didn't really respond to that.

Viki turned to Blair. "Are you coming with us?" she asked.

"I spoke to the hospital and they're letting me stay the night. I don't want to let him out of my sight," she said and Viki accepted that, wishing them both a good night.

"You wanna jump my bones?" he asked, a goofy smile on his face.

Blair let out a deep sigh. "More than you know," she answered. "but it'll have to wait." He face became concerned. "Why did you say it may get worse?"

Todd inhaled and said, "It was too easy."

"What was?"

"Our escape. Too easy. Two guards who didn't seem good enough to be mall cops, by the jump we got on them, no one patrolling the outsides, hell even shooting me. They had a clear shot to get me in the back, in the head…and I limped away with a bullet in the leg," Todd listed. "Allison was there, along with her partner. I tried to at least catch a glimpse of him, but Victor pulled me into a closet."

"Allison's the one who got her hands on Clint at the hospital. Natalie insisted on see him and when she did, Allison Perkins was there," Blair told him.

"Is Natalie alright?"

Blair nodded. "Yes, but she was injected with something that made her forget or gave her a false memory. Jack had a talk with her and with Matthew and their stories were inconsistent from that night."

"And our son put the pieces together?" Todd asked, pride in his voice for his son's sleuthing. Blair smiled at him, showing the same pride Todd displayed. "They think that they can find this drug in my labs from the hospital."

"Yes, Larry asked to see them," Blair said.

"It's not an excuse for all that I did…" Todd told her.

"No, but it could be at least a partial explanation. Were you taking any pills at the time?" she asked him.

"After I came back to Llanview, with Tea and the baby, I went to see the quack who testified at my trial. I told him how I was when Tea was in labor. He gave me a prescription for the PTSD. I took the pills infrequently," he admitted.

"But are you sure that was what they were there for? Clint thought he was taking his anti-rejection meds," Blair replied.

"I…I don't want to think about that now," he told her. "I just want to brainstorm…where are we going to go to be together, with the kids, because I am not staying at La Boulaie with the head witch?"

"Oh, well, that, you do not have to worry about," she said, supremely satisfied. "The bad news is, the whole family pretty much knows that we're married again."

"I kind of figured that. No secret it safe in Llanview."

"The good news is, Dorian blew a gasket when I told her that and the fact that I was moving the kids into Llanfair, at least temporarily."

Todd blinked. "We're staying in Llanfair?" He threw his head back against the pillow, in reluctant acceptance. "Well, at least I know Tina's halfway around the world, so I won't have to deal with her." He waited to hear Blair confirm that and as the silence grew longer he looked at her again. "Tina is still in London, right?"

She let out a sigh. "Todd, her father-in-law's been hospitalized and her husband's looking after the company while Clint's…"

Todd grunted something unintelligible. "Who else is camped out in the house? Please tell me not Kevin."

Blair shook her head. "Brody's been discharged from the Navy and he and Jessica are back together with the kids. They came back with Cord and Tina."

"Jack mentioned that she rechecked her son's DNA. I know how relieved she was about finding out Clint was her father. I'm happy she found out the truth about her son," Todd said.

"Brody's been helping with the investigation. He went to Chicago with Bo and Jack after they figured out where you had been taken from," she explained to him. "The whole family has been, really. Well, all of your family." She took his hand, still shocked that they were back together. "You're still worried."

"And I'm not going to stop until this is all over," Todd said. "Victor still must have the target on his head and they probably still want me to do it." He looked around. "Where is my evil twin anyway?"

"Bo took him back to Llanview with Tea and Matthew. He still has a murder charge and two attempted murder charges on him," Blair answered.

"I'll fix those, I think," Todd said. "I owe him that much, at least."

Blair arched an eyebrow at that comment. "Should I be worried?"

"I think the thing we need to be worried about most is him. I think he's the one we should have had our eye on from the beginning," Todd admitted. She narrowed her eyes, a look that urged him to continue. "Think about it. I was in the clutches of some rogue organization for eight years. I never had a moment that I gave in. I was tortured all that time, but I had something that saved me." He took her hand and kissed her fingers. "I had you and Starr and Jack. Victor, he's gone for a year. He's got a tattoo he doesn't want to talk about. He doesn't want to open up to anyone, even Delgado. He took an, okay, maybe not so innocent comment from me and nearly strangled me. Then he remembers that I didn't shoot him but can't remember who pulled the trigger. Go back even further. He was shot even before I got back to town. His death was faked. He is still wanted dead. Why? What is so important about him that he's been marked for elimination?"

Todd could tell Blair was processes what Todd was saying. "When you say not so innocent, what do you mean?" Todd got that typical squirrelly look about him. "Todd!"

"I bitched him out for running out on the kids. He said he had to, but he wouldn't give any details. I told him he was worthless and I should have killed him. When I showed him the door, he turned around and, well, that was how Jack found me," Todd answered. "I thought we'd come to some understanding for the kids and he wasn't going to hold up his end of the bargain."

She gave him a disapproving look that would have done Viki proud. "And now?"

"What do you mean by that?" Todd asked, even though he knew what the answer would be.

"He saved you. He risked his life to bring you back to me," Blair said.

"Well, he knew what you'd do to him if he came back alone," he pointed out. "I guess I owe him my thanks. Don't worry. I'll repay it." Todd scooted over and patted the side of the bed. "Think you can at least join me up here?" he asked her.

She smiled at him and climbed up next to him. Wrapping her arms around his neck she smiled contentedly. "I have to tell you, I've been dreaming of us, together."

"And what is it like in those dreams?" he asked her slyly.

"I'd tell you, but I'd much rather show you," she replied. "When you're all better…"

"And why can't you now?"

"Well, you're hooked up to all these monitors. I wouldn't want us to be disturbed."

"Hence why I wanted to be released today."

"You'll just have to be patient. But I promise you, it'll be worth the wait." With that, she turned to him and kissed him, losing her in the moment.


	24. Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

August, 2013

Todd was so amped up to leave the hospital, he didn't want to wait for a change of clothes Viki had promised to bring. It took Blair a lot of sexy promises to finally calm him down and wait until he was properly clothed for him to stay put. When Viki got there, Blair insisted on helping him get dressed alone, one of the promised Blair had used as a bargaining chip. It had taken longer than normal for them to emerge from the room, to which they found looks ranging from amused (Starr) to appalled (Jack).

Once they were on the Buchanan jet, Viki said, "When we get back to Llanview, I think you ought to go straight to the hospital. Larry will want to check you over and he may have the answers he was looking for in those labs Dani got."

Unsurprising to Blair, Todd shook his head. "Dani told me that Victor was being arraigned this afternoon. I want to go to the courthouse and be there for it."

"You want to make sure Nora does her job?" Jack asked, a little snider than he had intended.

Todd just smirked at his son. "If you want to know, come along." Then he turned to Viki. "Look, after that, I'll check in with Larry, alright mother?"

Viki merely rolled her eyes.

The plane landed and a car waited to pick them up. Viki agreed to come along to the courthouse, with Blair, Todd, Jack and Starr, but Dani backed out, saying she had to meet someone. When Todd asked who it was, she gave a very vague answer and left.

"Okay, someone want to tell me who this person is?" Todd asked, having caught looks from both Blair and Jack.

"That can wait, Blair said as they made their way to the courthouse. When they arrived they found the courtroom they were looking for and saw the proceeding had begun.

"Your Honor, the Commonwealth is charging Mr. Lord with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder," Nora Buchanan began.

The judge looked to Victor. "How do you plead, Mr. Lord?"

"Your Honor, may I speak?" Todd asked, hobbling on his crutches. Nora and Tea both turned to see him, Tea with a surprised look, Nora with an annoyed one.

The judge looked at him. "And who are you?"

"Todd Manning. I'm the two attempted murders," he answered.

"Well, this is an arraignment. It's highly unusual…"

"Trust me, you'll want to hear what I have to say," Todd said.

Next to him, under her breath, Nora hissed "What the hell are you doing?" Tea didn't say anything, just stood there with her arms crossed.

The judged looked between the two lawyers. "If there are no objections."

"None from me," Tea replied. She sent a look to Nora, who just threw her hands up.

The judge nodded and Todd began to speak. "Look, I think there's been a big misunderstanding. See, the attempted murder charges, they're really nothing."

"They aren't?" The judge asked, as he narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, see, my brother and I, well, we were horsing around and it got out of hand. We tend to think we're younger and sprier than we are. All in good fun but he panicked and that was why he left without calling for help," Todd explained in his most charming manner.

"Really?" came Nora sarcastic question. When Todd nodded his head, Nora threw her head back and rolled her eyes before continuing, "What about all the information found on Tea's computer about arsenic? You were the one who accused him of poisoning you in the first place."

"All a misunderstanding," Todd said as he leveled a gaze at Victor. His twin looked at him cautiously as Todd continued. "He noticed a day or so before that I wasn't looking so healthy and he knew I'd been fine before that. He was concerned and he went looking up what could possibly make me so sick so quickly. That was how those pages on arsenic poisoning came up on his web search." He moved over to the defense table. "My brother and I were just kidnapped and while we were held together, we had a long talk. It's brought us closer together as brothers. He explained it all to me then."

Nora snorted loud enough to catch a reprimanding look from the judge. He turned to Todd. "While that is all well and good, there is still the murder charge."

"He told me that was in self-defense," Todd said to the judge. "He'd escaped and was on the run and the guy was after him."

The judge's gaze fell to Victor. Tea leaned over and whispered in his ear Victor nodded to whatever she had just said. Then she stood up. "You Honor, my client just informed me that he did indeed tell Mr. Manning that."

"I take it then that will be your plea? Not guilty by reason of self-defense?"

Todd moved to the gallery and watched the rest of the hearing. Blair leaned over towards him and asked him, "Did Victor really tell you that?" Todd nodded. "And the horsing around and concerned brother?" With those questions came an arched eyebrow.

"You said I owed him, I just repaid the debt," Todd said.

"So, the plea is entered. Having reviewed some of Mr. Lord's records, I am also going to order a psychiatric evaluation be done on him. It is claimed that he has undergone a trauma this past year or so. I would like the workup to be done before trial begins. And I am putting bail at $1 million dollars. Court is adjourned."

When the judge exited, Nora turned to Victor then to Todd. "You're playing a game. I know it. I'm just trying to figure out what it is and why."

"No game, Madame Prosecutor. He did confess it was self-defense," Todd confirmed.

"Yeah, he'll lie and you'll swear to it. Why, I don't know," Nora huffed. Without another word to anyone, she walked out of the courtroom.

Tea turned to Todd as well. "I'd like to know why myself," she said.

Todd looked to Blair and then to Victor. "He pulled me out of there, even after I told him to get himself out. Consider this a partial repayment. Because the other part is going to Viki."

His sister's eyes went wide. "Why to me?"

"Have we heard anything about Clint?" Todd asked, seemingly going off on a tangent.

The family looked around than to Viki. She shook her head. "I haven't spoken to Cord or Tina in the last few days and quite frankly, my main concern has been on my brothers, not my ex-husband."

Victor looked to Todd and Todd saw realization dawning in his brother's face. "Well, it does help, I guess, that the judge ordered an evaluation, then."

"Wait," Jack asked trying to understand. "You want Victor to see what's up with Clint at St. Ann's?"

"Tea told me what about the drug theory with you. And if no one has gotten to see Clint…" Victor began.

"It's a good idea if someone went in to find out," Todd concluded.

Starr looked between her father and her uncle. "They're starting to sound like twins," she observed.

Tea looked to Todd, then to Victor. "Well, I have to go post bail for you. Then, I want to get home. It's been a long couple of days."

Blair turned to Tea. "Yeah, you…we all need to get some rest. And I know Larry Wolek wants to see you." And so the family split up. Tea and Victor headed to their house, Viki called Jessica to come and pick her up and Todd, Blair and their kids drove to the hospital. They walked in and found Larry.

"Todd, it's good to see you," he said.

"Yeah, uh, good to see you. You have any information for me?" Todd asked.

Larry nodded to the family and they made their way into his office. He sat behind his desk and looked to Starr. "I remember years ago, Viki told me how good you were in the sciences. I can see that is still true."

"She was right?" Jack questioned, though his voice was not sounding too surprised.

Larry nodded. "The traces weren't in as high a concentration as I found in Clint, but they were there. You were being drugged Todd, but by whom?"

"What was the name of the doctor who was your expert witness?" Blair asked. She had rolled her eyes when Todd's attorney had called the man to the stand during the trial and had written off most of the testimony at the time as bullshit. As such, she struggled to remember even the little details.

"His name was Dr. Weatherly, Bernard Weatherly. My lawyer recommended him, said he'd testified for him before," Todd answered.

Larry took the name down. "I'm going to look into him. See if there's a connection between him and the drugs we found in Clint's office."

Todd stood up. "Is there anything else you need to know?"

"Yes, do you have the records from this latest hospitalization? I want to see if there's any more of the drug present in your system."

Blair pulled out the records but Todd scoffed at the idea. "I can tell you, my head's been on right for a while now. I think even Blair will agree, I haven't done anything crazy since I've been back in town."

"Depends on how you define crazy," she said. "You did just absolve your brother of attempted murder in court."

Todd chose not to respond. "If there's nothing else, I'd like to get home."

Larry paged through the notes as he said, "If I find anything, I'll let you know. Also, I want to check that leg in a day or so." But he let the Mannings leave after that.

Todd got into the car. "Well, at least that's over," he said. "Now, we have to deal with the rest of my family."

"Hey," Jack said, "it could be worse. You may have had to deal with Dorian."

Todd thought about it and admitted his son was right. But even so, as the car pulled up to Llanfair, he wasn't ready to see his annoying sister. As he walked into foyer, he heard Tina's voice coming from the library. He let out a sigh and braced himself when he heard her say, "Face it, Dorian, you're never going to break them up. I came to realize that, so suck it up and deal."

"Your brother is a sociopathic…maniac and Blair needs to realize that. And I am here to see she does. Now, tell me when she will be back," Dorian shouted back.

That was met with a typical "Oh, Dorian!" from Viki and Todd had to smile. He knew he'd enjoy his sisters teaming up against the head harpy, especially when he saw Blair looking ready to blow her top.


	25. Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

August, 2013

"You know, we don't have to go in there and deal with any of them if we don't want to," Todd said, trying to be magnanimous. But he knew it would work. Blair turned to look at him and marched into the library. All Todd could do was hold back the humungous smirk that was on his face as he followed her in.

Dorian turned at the sound of the opening doors. When she saw Blair, she said, "Thank God your back. Where have you been? I've been worried sick!"

"Todd and Victor escaped their captors and in the process, Todd was shot at," Blair explained, as calmly as possible. "Victor got him to a hospital in Rochester and called us all."

Dorian peeked around Blair and saw the man in question leaning on crutches. "Lovely act you have going her, Todd, but the jig's up."

"Seriously, Dorian? You think I'm faking all this?" Todd asked, not believe her himself. He heard the echoes of his comments coming from around the room. "You want to see the bullet hole in my leg?" He was about ready to pull his pants down to show her.

"That won't be necessary, Todd," Blair replied for her aunt, "Because Dorian is leaving now." Then, as if remembering her manners, she turned to Viki. "If that's alright with you, of course."

Viki walked up to Dorian. "You have insulted my family, Dorian. I think it's best you leave."

Dorian looked around the room, settling on Blair. She gave her niece an appraising look then straightened her back and left, walking between Starr and Jack on her way out.

"After everything she's pulled over all these years, I can't believe she's sunk that low," Viki said in an astonished tone.

If she was going to say anything else, it was drown out by the children yelling from the kitchen. Sam led the charge, followed by Bree, Ryder and Liam. They must have heard the voices and came out to see what had happened. But when Sam caught sight of Todd, he screamed the whole way into the library. "Uncle Todd, you're back!" Todd turned to see Sam coming at him and all he wanted to do with pick his nephew up and hug him. Sam saw the crutches and asked. "What happened?"

Todd maneuvered himself to a chair and when he was seated, Sam hopped on his lap. "I hurt my leg while I was one my business trip. That's where Mom and Starr and Jack went, to come and bring me home." Then he smiled. "Guess who else is home?"

"Who?" Sam asked.

"Your dad is home too," Todd told him. When Sam's eyes brightened, Todd continued. "Yep, he's probably home with Tea now. You want to go see him?"

"Is he hurt too?" Todd shook his head and Sam's answered surprised him. "Then I can see Dad tomorrow. You need chicken soup. It's what Mom makes when I don't feel good."

That brought laughter from the family. "Well, then, why don't we go and make Uncle Todd some," Starr said, leading her little brother into the kitchen.

Todd watched, contentedly, as they left. Then, as he was about to stand up, he was attack from the back. "You have no idea how worried I've been about you!" Tina cried as she wrapped her arms around his back.

Todd had a fairly good idea how worried she'd really been, but a look from Blair kept him from voicing his opinions. "It's good to see you too," he responded diplomatically. Then, he turned to her and said in a genuine tone, "And thanks for the defense with Dorian."

"Oh, she was on the warpath. She was banging on the door even before Viki came home, insisting I get Blair for her. She didn't believe that I didn't actually know anything," Tina told them.

He didn't want to think too much about Dorian so he asked her, "Has Cord heard about how Clint is doing?" Part of it was digging but he tried to sound like he was actually concerned.

He could tell Tina was surprised by the question, but she answered, "As it happens, Clint's sort of…disappeared."

"What?" Viki asked. "What do you mean disappeared?"

Tina looked to Viki, saying, "Cord…Cord went to see if they'd allow him to see Clint this morning and when he got to St. Ann's, they said he'd been moved. I tell you, Cord was ready to tear the place apart to find him. They didn't even have copies of the paperwork saying here he went. Natalie's been at the station all day working with them to find him, but it's a mystery."

As if she heard her name being mentioned, Natalie walked into Llanfair with a guy just then. "Mom, you got home…oh, hello Uncle Todd," she said, her face going into a scowl.

Behind her, the other man raised his voice. "Todd Manning, as I live and breathe. Didn't think I'd get the chance to see you before I had to head home."

Todd narrowed his eyes, trying to place the face. He knew he recognized the guy but it took him a minute to place it. "Nicky Jobek? What the hell are you doing here in Llanview?"

"I was investigating a call from a hotel and then I learned the victim was the bruiser who put fear into the offense of every Chicago area football team. Who now, it seems, is a big time newspaper publisher? What would that ass Peter Manning say now," Jobek said, clasping Todd's hand.

"I haven't worried about him in a long time. Too many other things to worry about," Todd said suppressing the shutter that usually happened to him when he heard that name.

"Well, now that your back, I can question you about your kidnapping for my report," Jobek said to him.

Todd didn't want to go into that right now, not with another piece of the puzzle that had become his life missing. "Look, Nick, I've had a rough few days. Can I talk to you about that tomorrow? I just think I need to rest."

He could tell that Blair knew he was stalling but she implored the cop, "Yes, look, we just came from his doctor here and he would like him to take it easy."

Nick look from one to the other. "Okay, tomorrow. I think I can talk my supervisor into extending my stay another day or so," Jobek answered. He shook Todd's hand again. "But tomorrow, we'll talk, catch up some. Like old times." With that, he left.

When Todd turned around, he saw the looks he was getting from his family. "What's the problem?" he asked, at a loss of understanding.

It was Viki who spoke up. "It's been a very long time since I saw you with any male friends." Then she just smiled.

"I really am tired. Look, I'm going to go up and rest. Let me know when my chicken soup is ready," he said.

"I'll come up and help you get settled," Blair said.

"Yeah, I'll come up too," Jack added.

When they all got upstairs, Todd and Blair headed to the room that Todd had when he was living in Llanfair, while Jack went to the room he was sharing with Sam. He went to his bag and pulled out the files he had found in Dorian's office. Jack knew he shouldn't have them and the damage they could do, if he was reading them correctly. But he also saw how Dorian had set off his parents and aunts and he knew that they should know. He looked through the pages again, making sure he was reading them right. Then he went to his parent's room.

They answered his knock much faster than he had expected, especially after how long it had taken his mother to help his father get dressed at the hospital. "Come in," Todd called.

Jack walked into the bedroom, the file behind his back. "Can I talk to the two of you?"

He could see his parents' expression morph to ones of concern, though Todd did a better job of covering it. "Yeah, Jack. What's the matter?"

Jack took a deep breath and said, "When Mom told Starr and I to pack because we were leaving La Boulaie, I went to help Sam with his bag. I also asked him if there were any toys he wanted to bring with him. He told me one was in Dorian's office so I went to get it. I looking through the office and I found the toy, but I also found a file that, I don't know…You know how Aunt Viki was worried about _The Banner_ and then, she invested in that fund that was a Ponzi scheme?"

Blair looked to Todd and Todd's eyes shifted from Blair back to Jack. "Yes, the Pellegrino fund. She was told it was a can't miss deal. Her investment banker even backed it."

"Okay, well, I found something and it could get some people in a lot of trouble, even moreso than they already are, especially with this family," Jack told him. He handed the file to Todd.

Jack regretted his choice the minute Todd looked up from his reading. He really didn't want his father going on trial for murder again and that was the look Todd had on his face at that moment. But what shocked Jack more was his mother's look when he went through the file. He couldn't remember ever seeing that pissed off of a look on his mother's face ever before.


	26. Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

August, 2013

Blair could not believe what she was reading. Could Dorian have known that Pellegrino was a fraud and set up Viki for a fall? It seemed too over the top, even for Dorian. She was ready to go to La Boualie and confront her aunt then and there. But Todd's words shocked her. "We have more important things to deal with besides Dorian's unending vendetta."

Jack eyes widened at his father's words. "I thought you'd be the first in line to tear Dorian a new one."

"And I would be," Todd assured him, "if some mysterious organization wasn't gunning for my family." He looked from Blair to Jack and back. "But right now, all of our safety is my main concern. _The Banner_ is at least on some steady footing. I think I will have a talk with Cord, though and see if I need to funnel money into if it gets destabilized again." He remembered very clearly how Viki had reminded him _The Banner_ was also his legacy as well. He had actually thought about giving her the monetary support at the time, but his unplanned stop at the hospital, courtesy of Victor, knocked it out of his mind. "This stays between the three of us," he added.

"I think we should at least tell Starr," Blair responded. She knew Starr was still the intuitive girl who wouldn't let anything go until she figured it out. Blair caught Todd's look and he nodded in agreement.

A knock at the door sounded and in walked their daughter with Sam and a bed tray. "Sam made a bowl of soup for you, Dad," Starr called in.

Todd had been on the bed, his knee propped on a pillow and Starr gently put the tray on the bed. Blair watched at Todd took a whiff of the food. "Yum, smells great. Thanks, Sam," he said.

"It's what Mom always gives me when I'm not feeling so good," her son told his uncle.

Between mouthfuls of the soup, Todd caught up with his kids. He inquired more about how they had been doing in his absence. Then Todd turned to Jack. "How in the world did Nick Jobek even get mixed up in all this?"

Jack smiled as he explained the trip to Chicago and meeting the cop. He told him how the other man recognized Todd's name immediately and confirmed it when he saw Todd's picture. "It was kind of weird. Your past, before you came to Llanview, it's never really talked about."

"That's because I don't…I don't like to remember it," Todd said honestly.

"Why not?" Sam asked innocently.

Todd turned to the little boy. "I didn't have a very happy childhood. I didn't know I was adopted, that I had sisters or even a twin brother. The man who raised me…he wasn't very nice to me." Todd didn't want to use Peter Manning as an excuse for his bad years, but at the same time, he also came to believe that Peter's skewed views put Todd on the dark path he was on in his early twenties.

"Do you think you'd have liked to have had a brother or sister to play with?" Sam asked him. "I know I do, even if they older than me."

Todd thought about that question. He'd often wondered what his life would have been like had he (and Victor, to be honest) been raised in the house they were all now in. Sure, Victor Lord at times made Peter Manning look like a saint, but he also felt that he may not have had many years with Victor anyway. And Viki had kids his age, so he would have grown up with them, as well as with Viki's love. But he'd also have, in theory, grown up with Tina and Kevin and Joey. Thinking it through, he came to see the tradeoff may have been worth it. "Yeah, Sam, I think I would have liked to have had my brother and sisters around when I was your age."

"Even Tina?" Blair asked, reading his mind.

Todd gave her a scowl, but chose not to answer her in any way verbal. He then went back to Jack point. "But I am glad to see Nick anyway."

"And you have more time to catch up with him tomorrow," Blair said, "when he comes to talk to you about the case."

Todd actually thought he might enjoy talking to a cop for once.

The family talked some more and then Sam ran off to find Bree. Starr was about to leave when Blair stopped her. "We need to talk about something and we can now that Sam's not here."

She could see Starr get nervous. "What's wrong?"

Todd pulled out the Pellegrino file and explained what it looked like to him. Starr was just as shocked as the rest of them, but swore herself to silence about it. She and Jack also left the bedroom, but passed Viki, who was look for Todd.

Blair smiled as she saw Todd's sister poke her head in. "Is it okay to come and see you?"

"Your house, Viki. I'm not stopping you," Todd answered in his typical sardonic tone.

Viki, as usual, let it roll off her back. "But your room and I do believe in the right of privacy," she replied. She looked at Blair and Blair detected the meaning of the look. She excused herself and left the room.

Todd got the feeling he was in for a long talk. "What's up, sis?" he asked.

"I just wanted to come and check on you," she answered.

"I'm fine, just happy to be home, in one piece, and see that everyone here still is, more or less," Todd said. "How's everything going with _The Banner_?"

Viki's eyebrows shot up. "I'm surprised to hear your concern," she said.

"Well, I know how worried you've been about it. Has the situation changed since I've been gone?"

"No, but it's not as dire as it was before. Clint gave me the $5 million and I've decided to keep it. But it's merely a band-aid on a gunshot wound," was her replied, patting his injured leg. "I just wish I'd looked at Pellegrino more carefully. It made a bad situation worse on all sides."

Todd grimaced but she didn't seem to notice. "Well, look, if it gets any worse, let me know," he told her.

"Oh, no, Todd. I only took Clint's money because it was already there. I will not-" she began.

He pointed his finger at her. "You're the one who told me _The Banner_ was my legacy as well. If you need help, I want to know."

She gave him a loving smile. "Well, for now, the Buchanan money is helping. And, the digital edition is alleviating some of the pressure on the print side. Jeffrey King has been a wonder with the new technology. I really feel so blessed to have his help." It was then that Viki noticed Todd's look. "You don't like Jeffrey?"

"Well, the way you go on about how wonderful he is and how proud you are about him…I feel…feel like that was how you used to talk about me," Todd said, playing up the puppy look that always seemed to turn her to mush.

Viki came over to the side of the bed and kiss the top of his head. "Jeffrey is a wonderful addition to _The Banner_. But he's no replacement for my brothers, either of them."

"You ever wonder," Todd began, "what life would have been like if you'd known about Irene's kids? If, in some way, we'd been raised here all along?"

A shadow fell across Viki's face. "What brought that up?" she asked.

"Something Sam asked me about, if I'd have wanted brothers and sisters when I was a kid," Todd told her. "It's just something that's always played in the back of my mind."

"Well, if you had been raised here, you'd probably been better friends with Kevin," Viki reminded him, then chuckled at his typical reaction to her son. "But, at the same time, I don't want to think of the damage Father would have done to you or Victor or Tina."

Todd was still amazed at the strength Viki had always shown when confronted with their father's crimes against her. He knew how shattering it had been to her but, through it all, she still felt some obligation to rise above it and carry on those good aspects of the Lord legacy.

Without another word, she stood up again. "Now, I have to get dinner on the table for everyone else. I'll check in on you later." She left the room and was a bit startled to see Jack in the hallway. "Jack, I didn't see you there."

"Sorry to scare you, but I heard you mention Jeffrey King. Where did you meet him?" her nephew asked.

"Well, he was the one who gave me the story on Dorian. He also knew Dani and Matthew from when they were in school in London," Viki answered.

"So, that was the connection? It just seems kind of weird that he just showed up with this story and handed it to you," Jack said, his mind factoring in the new information.

Viki smiled at him the way she often smiled when Todd was getting worked up about something. "My my, you are sounding more and more like your father."

Jack smiled back. "Thank you," he said accepting the compliment as he went in to see his father. He closed the door behind him.

"Hey, Jack, has anyone been checking in on _The Sun_?" Todd asked when he came in.

"We've all been a bit preoccupied," Jack admitted, "but from what I saw before the last few days, Mom had everything under control over there. I think Briggs was happy to have her back, even."

Todd smiled at that. "Briggs always did like your mother. God knows she kept the paper going through a lot of my issues."

"Dad," Jack began as he saw the grin on his father's face. His train of thought forgotten momentarily, he asked, "Why are you looking at me that way?"

Todd shook his head. "I just, I never thought I'd hear you call me that," he answered.

Jack didn't know how to respond to that, but he continued with what he had been asking. "You know anything about this Jeffrey King?"

Todd looked a Jack closely. "Why do you ask that?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, it's just sort of weird. He hands her this big story and it's saving the paper. I mean, it's not like _The Banner _is _The Washington Post_ or anything."

Todd smiled at Jack again, one bursting with pride. "You know, if you were any other kid, I'd be worried about your paranoia," Todd said to him. "But, you're a Manning. We tend to err on the side of paranoia. You want to look into this guy, be my guest. I find something off about him myself."

Jack returned the conspiratorial smile.


	27. Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

August, 2013

The next morning, after Todd put in an appearance at the family breakfast table, he decided to head over to his office. Jack wanted to come, which warmed Todd's heart even more, but he said "I think you should go with your Mom and Sam and see Victor. I know he'd want to see you." Todd gave him an encouraging smile. "Come by later, though. In fact, we'll all do lunch at The Palace. I'll have Starr with me, so it'll work out."

Jack seemed to accept Todd's reasoning. Blair smiled over her son's head, mouthing a thank you to Todd. She understood that was a big step for him, understanding there was still a place in Jack's life for Victor, despite how well things were going between the father and son.

Starr decided to stay with Todd while he worked. Though he had never heard of her having any interest in the publishing business, he welcomed her presence there at least. While she was in the office, there was a knock on the door.

"I was told you'd be here by now, so I thought we'd get this over with," Nick said as he came in.

"I'll go get us some coffee," Starr said, giving her father some privacy.

Nick strolled in and took a look around. "Never thought this is where you'd end up," he said.

"Well, you're not alone. Most people, even here, thought I'd be rotting in some jail cell for the rest of my life," Todd told him. "Have a seat."

Nick sat down. "Well, it all makes sense now."

"What's that?"

"Llanview University. Never could understand what a small school in Pennsylvania had to offer you."

"Besides the full ride I got?" Todd asked. It was something Todd hadn't thought of in a lot of years; why he had chosen LU. "Peter pushed me here," he admitted. "Said it was just about as academically challenging as he expected I could handle."

"He knew…about who your father was, that he was some bigwig here?" Nick asked.

"Victor Lord, Sr., was long dead before I ever showed up," Todd began. "But Peter was cashing his checks for a lot of years before I started college here." Then Todd waved that off. "Look, the last thing I really want to talk about his my old man, either of them. And the one thing that has annoyed me in my life is talking to cops…even ones who were old football buddies. So, can we get this over with?"

Nick asked Todd a number of questions about his abduction and Todd, for once, answered them without getting lippy. When they finished, Todd asked him, "So, you're heading back to Chicago?"

"Actually, that's something I wanted to tell you. Chicago, well, it's getting bad. And I've been looking to transfer. So I mentioned this to your police commissioner, when I met him for breakfast and he told me that he's down a detective or two, asked me if I'd be interested," Nick said.

Todd's eyes narrowed and his face got sucked in as if he'd eaten something sour. "Please tell me you're joking?" he asked. "Please tell me you're not joining Bozo's Keystone Kops."

"What, this is a nice community, I've got an old friend here, there's an interest redhead who works for the LPD…" Nick stopped at when Todd's expression grew more disgusted.

"That redhead isn't that interesting…and even if she was, she's my niece," he told him.

"Really? I guess I forgot that there's an age gap between you and your sister," Nick said. He noticed Todd staring at him. "What, you really have a big problem with that?"

Todd swallowed. "I learned my mother was, like, barely legal when she had my sister Tina. And, by the time I was born, my father was about to be a grandfather. The idea that you and my niece…it makes me uncomfortable." Then Todd got an evil thought. "Also, just want to warn you, her father's a Texan and he likes his guns."

Just as he said that, there was a knock on his office door and Cord Roberts stepped in. "You said something about talking to me at breakfast this morning, Todd?"

Todd's smile only grew. "Cord, great to see you," he said. "I believe you may have met Nick Jobek? He's the cop that Bo brought back from Chicago."

"Yeah, I've had a talk or two with him," Cord said as he shook Nick's hand.

"Yeah, he's an old high school buddy of mine. We used to play football together," Todd explained. "He's going to be coming here, put a transfer in and all. He's said he's attracted to the nice small town feel and the feisty redhead who works with the cops."

"Really?" Cord asked, eying the cop.

"Uh huh," Todd said. "Nick, have you met my brother-in-law, Cord Robert? Natalie's his little sister. Also a Texan."

Nick looked real carefully at Cord then turned to Todd. "You bastard," he said. "Well, I have to go. I'll see you in a few days. I start in two weeks, gotta get my stuff moved here." With that, he hotfooted it out of the office.

Todd couldn't contain the smirk on his face. "You told him that intentionally, figured on a laugh?" Cord asked.

"Just warning him what he's getting himself into," Todd answered. "But I am glad you showed up. Look, Viki told me she's agreed to keep the money Clint gave her for the paper. But have you looked over the books? Did Clint before he gave it to her?"

"I haven't even seen Pa since I got here and all I've gotten on the situation has been from Viki and Natalie a little bit. But from what I understand, he snuck it into her accounts. Told her they managed to get the money out of Pellegrino before the government stepped in," Cord said. "When she learned the truth about that, she was fuming. I think Nigel had to talk her down."

Todd took that information in. "Okay, well, look, can you keep me advised about _The Banner_'s financial state. I told her I'd help if she needed it, but I don't think she'd actually tell me."

Cord looked surprised. "You? I remember a time you were out to destroy _The Banner_. Stole her staff, poached files, stuff like that."

"I didn't want to destroy it. Viki's alters did. They just used me and _The Sun_ to do it," Todd retorted. "Besides, you hear the 'It's your legacy' spiel enough and I guess it sinks in." He heaved a sigh. "Look just keep me in the loop, okay?"

Cord nodded. "I'll let you know if there are any changes," he said as he stood. "Oh, and that buddy of yours…anything I need to know?"

Todd smiled. "No, actually, he was always a pretty good guy." Cord left, seemingly satisfied. Todd sat back in his chair and got to work.

The knock at the door got Tea up off the couch. She answered to door, finding Blair, Jack and Sam there. "Hi, come in. I guess you guys want to see your dad, huh?"

"Yeah," Sam said, getting excited. Then he calmed down as he asked, "Is he really alright? He didn't get hurt too, like Uncle Todd?"

Tea smiled as she looked up at Blair. "No, he's fine. He's just very tired. I'm going to go get him," she said as she went left the room. She and Victor returned a few minutes later and Sam rushed into his father's arms.

"Dad, I missed you!" Sam said.

Victor held his son as he closed his eyes. Blair looked at the two and thought something was different. Victor had never been a particularly warm personality with any of the kids, but right now, he seemed to struggling with his emotions. She looked over and saw Jack turn to her with the same confused expression on his face.

Victor put Sam and held out his hand to Jack. "Everything okay with you?"

Jack covered any uncertainty he may have been feeling. "Yeah, everything's fine."

"Are you staying now?" Sam asked.

Victor nodded. "Yeah, I am, but I don't know how much I'll be able to see you. I have to see a doctor. I'm alright, but I hurt your uncle and they want to make sure I'm not going to hurt him again," he said.

Tea turned to Blair. "Can you help me get something in the back?"

Blair saw the desperation in her eyes. "Sure."

When they were out of earshot of Victor and the boys, Tea almost collapsed in Blair's arms. Blair gathered her up and tried to calm her. "It's going to be alright," she said.

"Blair, he's so…different. Even different then he was when he came back in the spring. He still won't tell me anything, and now it's even more important, because it's for his defense," Tea told her through her tears. "I don't know what to do. I'm afraid to even tell him about the baby."

"Has he given you reason to be afraid of him, anything like that?" Blair asked.

Tea shook her head as she stood up and went into the bathroom for a tissue. "No, but with the psych evaluation he's facing, I don't know what to do."

Blair stood up and took Tea's face in her hands. "I think you need to tell him about the baby. Be honest with him. It may give him something to fight for."

The two women went back into the living room. Jack looked up at them as they came in and noted that Tea had been crying. Blair shook her head and Jack acknowledged that. Victor looked up and saw them. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Blair assured him.

"Mom," Sam called out, "I have a question."

Blair looked down at her son. "What it is?"

"Well, now that Jack is calling Uncle Todd 'Dad', does that mean we're still brothers? Isn't he my cousin?"

It was Victor who answered. "You and Jack will always be brothers, Sam," he explained. "But because you're my son and Jack is Todd's son, it just another strong connection you two have."

Sam smiled at that. "I asked Uncle Todd this question so I'll ask you…would you have wanted to grow up with your brother and sisters if you could have?"

Victor looked up at Blair and Jack before answering, "I think I would have."

His son seemingly satisfied with that answer, Blair said, "We have to get going. You said you wanted to meet Uncle Todd for lunch, right?"

"Yea! We're going to The Palace for lunch. They make the best milk shakes!" Sam cried enthusiastically.

As they headed for the door, Victor called after Blair. "Look, I think we four should all sit down to dinner one night. I think we have a lot to talk about."

Blair nodded. "I also heard Viki mention something about a big family dinner she wants to have. But I'll talk to Todd about one for the four of us." With that, they left.


	28. Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

August, 2013

"Well," an all-too-familiar voice said as Todd and Starr walked towards The Palaces' restaurant, "Look what the cat dragged in."

Todd blinked and grimaced. He never had a good experience encountering Renee Buchanan. "Good afternoon, Renee" he responded as politely as he could. "I have a lunch reservation for my family. Are Blair and the boys here?"

"No, not yet," the owner replied. "But I saw Dani in there with her friend."

Todd's eyebrow arched at that comment. "Her friend? This is the first I'm hearing about a friend. Or do you mean your grandson?" At her look, he returned her confused look. "Matthew Buchanan?"

Before he could get an answer or check on the friend himself, he heard Blair. "You got here already," she said, sounding surprised.

He gave her a too-short kiss as they all went in. "Yes, Renee here was just telling me that all my kids are here."

"All?" Blair asked, sounding confused.

"Yes, Dani and the man she brought to the Man of the Year dinner, Arturo Bandini. They're lunching here as well," the proprietress told Blair.

Blair's eyes slide to Todd. "You know what, I think we should go to the Buenos Dias for lunch," Blair announced, too chipper as she kept her gaze on Todd.

Todd didn't like the look his wife was giving him or the tone of Renee's voice. He looked to Jack, who also looked like a deer caught in the headlight. "I think I'd like to meet this Arturo Bandini," Todd announced as he headed in. Despite the crutches, Todd made inside the restaurant quickly, with the the rest of his family trailing after him. His eyes scanned the room until her saw his daughter and…

"Afternoon, Danielle," Todd said appearing seemingly out of nowhere beside their table.

Dani almost choked on the wine she was swallowing. "Todd, what are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Well, I was just going to have lunch with Blair and my kids and, as luck would have it, they're all here," Todd answered cheerfully. "Why don't you join us?"

"I'm having lunch with my friend, actually, as you can see," Dani replied snidely.

Todd attention turned to her companion. "Todd Manning, publisher of _The Sun_. I'm sure Dani's told you all about me," he said.

"Arturo Bandini, Mr. Manning. Actually, Daniella has not told me much about you, other than you help her get her apartment," the other man said.

"Really?" Todd asked sardonically. "Because, that's more than I knew about you."

Dani's eyes bugged out but Arturo handled it very smoothly. "Dani, I believe your father wants to speak to you alone," he said.

"No, really you don't have to leave," she answered.

"Yes, I do," he said, kissing her hand. "I will call you, though, bella." With that, the man left.

Todd said nothing, only watched him go. When he was out of earshot, he said to Dani, "Come on, join the rest of us."

Dani grabbed her bag and avoided Todd's hand as it went for her shoulder. She collapsed into a chair in a huff. "I cannot believe you just did that! Did my mother send you?"

Todd calmly sat down next to Blair as he asked, "Tea knows about Mr. Bandini?"

Dani looked to Blair then back. "I went with him to the dinner. After Clint caused his scene, Mom caused one inside Shelter and outside as well…screaming hysterically, forbidding me from seeing him, shit like that."

Todd's eyes swung to Sam, but he seemed oblivious to Dani's language. "I take it she doesn't approve, then."

"Why would she? He's charming, intelligent, cultured. Not really Mom's taste in men," she responded tartly.

Todd let the comments roll off his back. "Dani, he may be the kind of guy I'd want my daughter to date. But from the looks of it, it looks like an older man seducing a young woman."

"And what's wrong with that?"

Todd cringed inwardly. By the way she answered, he figured how far the relationship had gone. "Just look at it from my perspective. Even if she had turned out to be mother of the year, Irene Manning was just about your age when she had Tina. And Victor…Victor liked younger women in general."

"So, this is all about you?" Dani accused. But before Todd could even answer, she pushed herself out of the chair and away from the table.

He looked to Blair, Starr and Jack. "What did I say wrong?"

"She was right about something, though, Dad," Starr spoke up. "I understand where it would be uncomfortable for you, but it's not about you."

Todd sighed. "I just get the feeling that she's going to make the same mistakes that turned my mother into a psychopath." He looked to Blair. "Tea didn't take it well?"

Blair shook her head. "Arturo was involved with a young woman…the one who sold Dani the drugs…" She stopped when Todd's eyes grew wide. "Todd, I think right now, it's best to leave her. The more you and Tea push against it, the more attractive it will be to her."

Todd shook his head in disgust but realized she was right. "What it it with my kids and potential significant others though?" He looked to Jack, Starr and Sam. "What's going on with your love lives?"

"What love life?" Starr asked.

"No one in mine," Jack answered too quickly.

"Girls are yucking," Sam informed them.

Satisfied with the responses, Todd moved onto one of the reasons he wanted to have lunch with his family. "Now, why I thought we should all do this," he said, circling his finger around the table. "Look, I love that Viki was so generous to open her home to you and the kids, Blair when Dorian was on her broomstick, I don't much like the idea of living at Llanfair."

"So we're not going back to La Boulaie?" Starr asked.

"As much as I love the idea of buying it out from under Dorian and throwing her out of it…" Todd began, "I know your mother was going to start looking for places."

"And unfortunately, I didn't get far," Blair replied. "But at least it was for a good reason." She smiled at Todd and was about to lean in to a kiss when two different gagging sounds could be heard.

Starr looked at her brothers and shoved her shoulder into Jack so forcefully, he crashed into Sam.

"Hey, hey!" Todd called out. Before it could dissolve into chaos, Todd managed to get everyone's attention. "Well, Blair, I actually think I may have found a place. Nice, centrally located, gorgeous views. We'll take a look at it after we eat."

Blair raised her eyes to Todd, trying to figure out what he had planned. But when he remained Sphinx-like after repeated questions from her and the kids, she let it drop.

They finished lunch and Todd told Blair to leave her car at The Palace. "Don't worry, it's not that far. And it's just a possibility. I haven't made any final deals for it. I want to make sure you're okay with the place." With that, they all piled into a waiting limo.

"Now, you really have me intrigued," Blair said.

"And I figure that after we're done with the place, you can help me put the paper to bed," Todd told her. When she gave him a surprised look, he reminded her, "I want us to be partners in _The Sun_. I meant that in my note to you. You can keep the club, hand it off to someone else, but it's not you. At least, not something like that. You had Capricorn, right? That was more your taste. But the crowd you have there now? Not you."

Blair smiled at him. "I have to say, I did enjoy running the paper for the past couple of weeks. I was a long time since I did it last, but I remembered how like that," she said with a snap of her fingers.

The limo stopped then and the Mannings got out. It was Starr who recognized the building first. "This is where the penthouse was," she said in a curious tone.

Todd didn't say anything, but took Blair's hand and led her in. When they got into the elevator, Todd pushed a button and turned to the kids. "You know how I came to own the penthouse? Bought it from Alex Olanov. And she didn't want to sell it. She figured her new husband would have a fit that I bought it for me and my wife." As the door pinged, Todd turned to Blair. "If they could see us now!"

Starr dashed out of the elevator with Jack just behind her. Instead of opening to the hallway just outside the penthouse, like it had throughout her childhood, it opened directly into the penthouse. Todd stood back and smiled, seeing the childhood wonderment Starr always seemed to wear when she was younger. The look was mirrored in Jack and Blair's faces.

"Well, what do you think?" Todd asked.

"I thought someone else bought this place?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, they did and enlarged it a bit. I spoke to the realtor earlier today and when she told me about this listing, I just couldn't not look at it, at least." He walked around, coming to stand by the windows that had always been there. Then he turned back to Blair. "So much of our lives, our memories, are in this place. Those were the memories that kept me going through so many dark days. Having fun at Alex's expense. Filling it with stuffed animals. Leaving a saddle as a tease for a birthday present. Bringing my bride home." He walked over to Blair, taking her hands in his. "Even the bad memories are good one. Coming and finding it filled with gold balloons. Hiding our handcuffed wrists under a blanket from Bo. Fighting and kissing." At that moment, he didn't care what his kids' reaction would be, he knew he had to kiss Blair right then and there. It was a long, slow kiss, one there they were lost in the closeness of it, as if they were the only two people in the room, in the world.

When they pulled apart, they found that they were the only ones in the room. "I think the kids went exploring their new home," Blair said to him.

Home. What a beautiful word.


	29. Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

August, 2013

Todd had just gotten off the phone with the realtor when it rang again. He looked at it and took a deep breath as he answered, "Hey sis, what's up?"

"Todd, I just wanted to see if you were going to be home for dinner tonight, you and your family," Viki said on the other end.

"Well, I was going to take care of a little business, actually. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I wanted to have a family dinner tonight. I spoke to Victor and he and Tea will be coming over. I was hoping you all could make it," his sister said. "I know how you feel about these kinds of things, but we've never all sat down together and the next few weeks will be rough on Victor…"

Todd rolled his eyes. He knew his sister was trying to appeal to what she thought was his better nature. While his first reaction to such an event was to complain and whine, he figured it would be a good time to tell her about the Manning Family move. "Sure, we'll be there," he said.

He could almost see the smile on her face as she answered, "Oh, that will be lovely. I'll see you later."

As Blair came down the stairs, she said, "I cannot believe how different this place looks. And yet…"

"And yet, it feels like it once was?" Todd asked her, a smile creeping on his face.

Blair smiled back at him. "Yeah, it does. And with a few interior decorating changes, it will be perfect." She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her closer to him. "Know what I feel like?"

"Blair," he moaned, "the kids are here."

She leaned in and kissed him. "Maybe later for that. Right now, I think we should order Chinese food and camp out here."

Todd loved the sound of that idea, but winced. "Viki called while you were all looking around," he said. "She wants a 'family dinner' with all my big dysfunctional family there. I kinda said we'd be there." Then he stepped back and reached for his phone. "But if that's what you want, I can tell her to forget it."

Blair shook her head. "No no, it's fine. I think having the family around will do her good. I know she's still worried about Clint, the paper and now, even that you and Victor are back, she's still concerned. We'll go."

"And tell her we're moving out."

"I think we can stay a little longer. We haven't even closed here, we need to get the decorators in and get this place in shape and then, we'll leave Llanfair," Blair said to him.

Todd saw the logic in points but hated them anyway, with what she had just suggested. Turning to the stairs he called the kids down and they headed back to Llanfair, after dropping Blair back for her car. When they arrived at the Lord estate, Todd noticed Tea's car was already there. Upon entering, he saw Victor with Brody and Jessica talking in a corner of the library, while Tea was with Viki. He walked over to his ex-wife. "Can we talk for a minute?"

Viki excused herself and Tea turned to Todd as he began, "What's the story with Dani's 'friend', Arturo Bandini?"

Tea's eyes grew wide and then shifted over to her husband. She noticed Blair walk in and tugged Todd into the dining room. "You saw her with him?"

Todd nodded. "Yeah, I had lunch with Blair and the kids at the Palace and Renee tipped me off that she was there with him. He's kinda…old for her. I've also been informed that he was involved with the woman who gave her the drugs?"

Tea looked to be on the verge of a meltdown. "I…I don't know. He sounded like he was the girl's sugar daddy. I tried to talk to her, but she's…she's not listening to me."

"Well, I tried to talk to her and she thinks you sent me," Todd told her. "Look, I'm going to have one of my guys look into him. We may be panicking over nothing."

Tea glared at him. "You're handling this way too well."

"Yeah, well," Todd answered with a heaved sigh, "Blair had to talk me down. Speaking of spouses, have you told Victor?"

Tea shook her head. "And I don't think we should. He's under a lot of stress lately and I don't know how he'll react."

That peeked Todd's curiosity. "How has Victor been reacting to stress?"

Tea seemed to realize she'd said the wrong thing. "He's fine, it's just…look, he didn't take most of the conversations you had with him well," she said sharply. "Let me handle my husband." With that, she turned and left.

Todd went back into the library. He was about to go looking for Blair when he heard Natalie calling his name. He rolled his eyes as he turned to her. "What's your problem?"

"What's your friend like?" Natalie asked him.

"My friend?" Todd replied, playing dumb.

"Yes, Nick Jobek. Remember, the high school football buddy." His redheaded niece rolled her eyes at him When Todd continued with his act, she walked away, leaving Todd smirking. Blair found him there. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, I just realize how much fun I could have with a Nick and Nat relationship," Todd said. "Hey, I talked to Tea about Dani and Arturo and we decided to keep it from Victor. She said that he hasn't been dealing with stress well lately. You know anything about that?"

Blair shook her head. "No, I don't know what she means," she said as Viki called the family in to eat.

It was relatively peaceful, much to Todd's surprise. He decided that, instead of tormenting his niece on the subject of his high school buddy, he'd just wind up her son and his cousin Ryder. Jessica noted how Todd still had it with with younger children. She went on to tell Jack and Sam about her encounters with Todd before and after they all learned he was their uncle.

There's was a clinking of utensils on glass and everyone's attention turned to Victor. "I'm actually glad we're all here, because Tea and I have an announcement." He looked down and took Tea's hand. "Tea found out that's she's pregnant." A flurry of congratulation went around the table and Victor and Tea took them all in.

Todd leaned into Blair. "Now I think I know what she meant by stress," he whispered to Blair's nod. Then he turned to his brother. He stood up and shook his hand. "I wish you all the best," Todd told him, but he was unable to look at Tea.

Victor looked to him. "We…we need to have a talk. I want to know, from you, what happened."

Todd was about to argue that when there was a loud crash heard coming from the library. "What in the world?" Viki asked as she got up from the table, followed by the rest of the family. They all got to the library and found the French doors wide open. Cord walked over, followed by Todd, Jack and Victor and they all found Clint passed out on the floor.

"What in the hell?" Cord whispered as he bent down.

Victor looked for a pulse. "Call 911."

Viki came in and saw Clint on the floor. "Oh, my goodness! Clint!" she cried out. "Is he conscious?"

Victor looked up to her and nodded. Just then, Todd called out, "The ambulance is on its way, which means Bo probably is too."

Natalie spoke up. "I'll call Uncle Bo and tell him to meet us at the hospital."

Viki looked to Jessica. "You girls go to the hospital with Cord," she said.

The EMTs arrived and Cord went with them, with Tina, Jessica and Natalie following behind. When they all left, Todd and Victor went over to Viki. "Don't you want to go?" Victor asked.

"Someone needs to stay here with the children," Viki replied, indicating to the upstairs where Liam, Ryder and Bree were.

"We can stay here with them," Blair offered, pointing between herself and Tea.

"He's not my problem anymore. His children are there for him, I'm not needed," Viki said as she sat on the couch.

Todd went and sat by them. "You don't believe that," he told her. "I know you said to me that you and he were over. That was BS, you know that?" Viki looked at him, her face beginning to crumble. "You're about as over him as I am over Blair. Come on, I'll go to the hospital with you."

"And I'll go too. We still have some mysteries to solve about Clint. I think we should talk to Larry about them," Victor added.

Todd looked from Victor to Viki and offered her his hand. Viki sighed as she got up. "Thank you. I know both of your opinions about Clint in particular and the Buchanans in general."

"He makes you happy. That's all that should matter," Victor said, with Todd nodding in agreement. With that, the siblings left.


	30. Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30

August, 2013

By time Todd, Victor and Viki got the Llanview Hospital, the doctors were working on Clint under Larry Wolek's direction. Viki found her daughters and sat with them. Todd and Victor hung back, with Tina between the two groups.

"So, you have any thoughts on the reappearance of Clint?" Victor asked.

"Oh, I have lots of thoughts," Todd said, drilling a look at his twin.

"Well, while we wait, I think we should have that talk," Victor said. Todd swallowed as he nodded. Before he headed for the hospital chapel, though, he went up to Tina.

"Come with us," he demanded of his sister. Tina looked at the expression on the two of them and after a momentary quizzed look, she followed.

When they arrived, Todd began. "What do you want to know exactly?"

Victor inhaled. "I want to know about what happened to my son," he said. "Tea told me, but, I want to hear your side."

"Victor…" Todd's voice began to break as he looked to Tina. Even she began to try and dissuade him from his inquiry.

"No, you're going to tell me," he said with surprising calm.

Todd began to describe everything, from Tea not showing up for Starr's court hearing to finding her in the hotel garage to the rainstorm and the delivery in the bus stop. "When he…he came out, he wasn't crying, he didn't make a sound. Tea demanded I find help and I did. Or, I thought I did." He went on to the crazy woman in the shed and her declaring the baby dead. Then, when it was just him, he explained how another woman had collapsed inside the shed and Todd hearing her baby's cry. He told Victor how Tea had found him with the other baby, and Tea mistaking him for her son. "I should have stopped it there. I tried to but the woman came back, thought she had saved the baby. Then, when I told her about the other woman, she came up with the plan. I didn't want to, I've done that before and I knew it wouldn't work, but she kept harping on my guilt."

"Your guilt?" Victor asked slowly.

Todd looked at Victor. "Contrary to popular belief, I did feel guilty for 'killing you'" he said. "I made the mistake of telling the crazy lady that. And then I got Tea to the hospital. I tried a few more times to right it, but they got messed up too. And I thought I could let it lie." Todd sat down and looked at his brother.

Victor remained quiet and calm. It looked to Todd like he was processing the information. Todd was prepared for anything, including his brother's potential for a violent reaction. "Where did you find Tea again?"

Todd blinked. He hadn't expected that question. "She was unconscious on the floor of the garage. It looked like she was about to get into her car."

"How long was she there?"

Todd narrowed his eyes. "I don't know. She could have been there for, like, a half-hour, if she was on her way to court."

"Did you see anyone else there in the garage?"

Todd shook his head. "No one that I noticed." He turned to Victor. "What are you thinking?"

Victor didn't answer, just got up and headed back to the waiting room. Larry was there, talking to Viki and Clint's kids. "He seems to have stabilized. His heart is a point of concern, if for no other reason than, we have no idea how long he's been without the anti-rejection meds and how that has impacted on his heart. We're also testing him for any signs of that drug we found when he was brought in a few weeks ago."

"Will he be alright?" Viki asked, as both of her daughters had their arms around her.

"I can't say for certain, but if his cardiac tests come back positive, he should be alright," Larry answered at last.

Clint's family let out a sigh of relief, as Victor signaled to Larry. The doctor moved over to him. "Clint should be fine. I just told them," he said.

Victor seemed to ignore what he had just been told. "Was there an autopsy done on my son?" Victor asked.

Larry looked at Victor for a moment. "I'm sure there was one done on the baby when he was brought in up in Port Charles."

"Was there one done before he was buried here?" Victor asked, his voice rising.

"I don't know, Victor," Larry answered truthfully.

Victor closed his eyes for a minute. "If Tea was drugged, could that have been what killed my son?"

Larry looked from Todd to Victor. Then, taking his brother-in-law by the shoulder, he ushered him into another room. Victor's twin followed. "Have you spoken to Jack? Either of you? Do you know if he spoke to Tea?"

"What's Jack got to do with this?" Todd asked.

"Before you both came back, Jack came to me, asked me questions about Merrie," Larry explained. "I told him about my daughter. She was my son Daniel's twin, who was stillborn. She, too, had respiratory issues. He thought Tea should speak to me, that maybe there's a link there between your son and my daughter."

Victor took a deep breath. "And maybe…look, someone's been going after our family." He circled his hand between himself and Todd. "Maybe they thought Tea was an easy target. Maybe they wanted to get her and get the baby after he was born," he said. "Look, can we just…is it possible that if Tea was drugged it could have gotten to the baby and that was the cause of death?"

Larry seemed to mull it over. "It's possible. I'd have to see the autopsy results before I can say for certain."

"Then do it. If you need the body exhumed, I'll sign the papers to authorize it," Victor said.

Larry left without saying a word. Todd turned to him. "You think someone went after Tea?" Victor didn't answer. He just walked away, leaving Todd concerned.

"How did Victor take the news?" Blair asked Tea as they helped Lois clean dinner off the table.

Tea got quiet, before she said, "He took it well," she said.

Blair raised an eye to that. "You tell your husband, the man you love that you're pregnant, and he takes it well?" Then, she saw Tea begin to crack. "What's wrong? Please, tell me."

"He didn't have any reaction to the news. I asked him how he felt about it and he didn't say anything. I was surprised when he announced it tonight," Tea said as she tried to get herself under control.

Blair didn't know what to say. She really didn't want to get involved in the Victor/Tea relationship but she also remembered the plan to keep an eye on Victor. "Tea, he never had time to even contemplate the idea of your son. And now, you're pregnant again, it has to be hard for him to think about."

"How did Todd react to when you told him you were pregnant?" Tea asked.

Blair understood what Tea was looking for. Blair sorted through her memories as she answered. "Which time?"

"That's right, you lost a baby too," Tea answered. "When you were pregnant with Starr, how did Todd react to that?"

Blair remembered all the children she had lost, but the memory of telling Todd about Starr was one that always filled her with joy. "We had just pulled one over on David, Dorian and I with some help from Todd. And he took me for a ride in his jet. We talked about a lot, about the secrets that tore us apart. And one thing led to another and that was when Todd asked me to marry him again." She looked at Tea sheepishly. "I told him there was one more secret, that I was pregnant."

"How did he take it?"

"He was surprised but after we talked, he was happy. We were happy. We got engaged again and the whole world was at our feet," Blair said.

"And then he -" Tea began.

"Yes, I remember what happened next," she replied, her voice getting pissed. "It's taken us a long time to get back to where we were then."

Tea backed off. "But you are back," she said at last.

"I don't think we've ever been this close," Blair said.

"I envy you of that. There was a time that I would have gloated in your place. To be that close to my husband…" She shook her head. "Victor is so different. It's like, he's going through the motions. Like, he is reacting to things the way he thinks people would expect him to react."

Before the conversation could continue, Starr and Jack came in. "The boys are asleep, and Sam and Bree are just finishing up the next chapters of their books. I'm going to go check on them in a few minutes," Starr said.

Jack looked at his mother and Tea. "What are you talking about?"

Blair looked to Tea, who answered, "Your mother was asking me how Victor was when he heard about the baby."

It was then that Jack remembered something. "I was having a talk with Larry Wolek and he told me he had a daughter who was stillborn."

Tea looked at him curiously. "I never knew that but I don't see the point…"

"Well, he was married to our Aunt Merrie so I was thinking, maybe there's a family link," he said uneasily. He looked to his sister, who eyeballed him.

Tea, at least, seemed touched. "Thank you for your concern, Jack."

"Have we heard anything from the hospital?" Starr asked, breaking the silence.

Blair shook her head. "I don't think we'll hear anything for a while, though. I would figure, though, that once there's any good news on Clint, your father and uncle will head back here."

"I'm surprised Dad went in the first place. He's never been a big fan of the Buchanans'," Starr replied.

"He went to support your Aunt Viki," Blair reminded her. "Despite a lot of stuff that's happened over the years, Todd still feels the closest to Viki. And God knows, she's given him the most support he's ever had in his life. He's just returning the favor." Then she went over to her children, putting her arms around them. "Like any sibling would do."


	31. Chapter 31

CHAPTER 31

August, 2013

Todd went out looking for his brother. At first, he thought Victor had left the hospital completely, but as he walked past an exam room, he saw his brother standing with his back to the door seemingly staring at the wall. Todd took a deep breath as he went in. "Victor?" he asked cautiously.

Victor turned to him. "What do you remember the night my son was born?" he asked Todd, a note of desperation in his voice.

There were a number of moments in Todd's life he didn't like to think about and that had been added to the list the minute it happened. He still didn't like to dwell on it. "Victor, it was a while ago and I didn't go over it in my head…"

"That's bullshit," Victor said calmly. "You told me about the guilt of it. If anyone knows you well, it's me and I know that when you feel guilty about something, it plays over in your head and eats you up."

This was one of those times he really hated having a twin, especially one who had all his memories. "You got me there. What do you want to know?"

"Where you found Tea," he answered. "I want to know everything you know about that."

Todd closed his eyes and found himself back in the parking garage of the hotel Tea had stayed at. "It was a parking garage, underneath the place she was staying. I was on the phone calling to find out where she was. Starr had a court hearing and Tea, very unlike her, never showed. Not that she was needed in the end, but I went looking for her. She looked like she had passed out when she was trying to get into the car. When she came to, she said she had overslept, she was rushing and she passed out. I took her keys and she tried to get them back. I told her she could hate me all she wanted, but I was going to drive her to the hospital."

"Did you see anyone else there?"

"No, I didn't," Todd told him. "I walked in, I was yammering on the phone, but there was no one else there. I'm sure of that." Then, Todd paused. "At least, I'm pretty sure of that."

Victor jumped at that. "Pretty sure?"

"Well, I wasn't really paying attention to a lot, and then all my attention was on Tea after I found her. I mean, it's possible that someone else was there. It was a public lot."

"But if it was, wouldn't someone else have come to help her?" Victor asked. Todd saw his point. "When was this? When did it happen?"

"It was…it was the end of May, beginning of June," Todd said.

"May, June," Victor repeated, closing his eyes. "I remember Allison showing me a headline about Viki recovering from her shooting. I remember seeing the news about…about the accident and I remember seeing the headline about your bail jumping. And then, the next time I saw her, she had a copy of _The Sun_ from when Starr performed up in Port Charles."

"That was a couple of months apart. Cole and Hope…that was in March and Starr didn't do her show until July," Todd said, putting the pieces together.

"I know she wasn't with me for a while. When she was, she'd be in every day to see me. But there was a long period that she didn't come to see me," Victor said, almost to himself.

"Victor…" Todd began. "Victor, much as I am in favor of paranoid conclusions, you need to ease off a bit."

"What if they tried to use her to get to me? What if they tried to use the baby?" Victor questioned. "It's happened before. Mitch used Blair, tried to use Starr and he got you!"

"Mitch was dead before any of this happened, Victor!" Todd yelled back, his voice getting louder. "Natalie shot him on New Year's Eve. There was a prison break. He escaped, so did Allison and Cole and others." Todd didn't want to think about Mitch snatching him. It brought up too many things he still hadn't come to terms with.

"But what if that was the plan?" Victor's voice was getting more desperate, more hysterical. "Use them to get me to cooperate? Because, I remember…I remember fighting, trying to figure a way to escape, even before then. What if they wanted to use them to silence me?" His voice was breaking at that and he slid down to the floor of the room.

Todd crouched down as best he could next to Victor, fearing for him for the first time ever. He finally sat down and was shoulder to shoulder next to his brother. "Victor, we still don't know who the primary target has been. I was the one that got kidnapped. Then I escaped and they then wanted you dead. Next, you get kidnapped and then you escape. And how does Clint figure into all this?" Todd looked at Victor and Victor back at him. "We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise you."

"Before the baby comes. I don't want anything to be hanging over us, any of us, then," Victor said as he stood up. He seemed calmer now, which Todd was grateful for. Dealing with neurotic Tea was bad, but he didn't much like the idea of handling Victor either.

Todd struggled to get to his feet. "Ah, a little help here would be appreciated," Todd called. Remember, shot in the leg!"

Victor turned back and grabbed Todd's hand, helping him to his feet. They made their way back to the waiting room and found Tea there. "Hey, I was just going to coming look for you," she said to Victor.

"I just needed a little time to think," he answered. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I wanted to check in with you. We haven't heard anything and I was getting tired, so I figured I'd come and see if you were still here and if there was any news," Tea explained.

He looked to Viki. "Anymore word on Clint?"

Viki walked over to her brothers. "There's no change, so obviously, he's being admitted. Larry also told me that, in examining him, they found a tattoo…like the one you have."

"And I, for one, would like to know what you know about it Victor," Bo said as he joined them.

"Are you accusing me of this?" Victor yelled, about ready to fly off the handle.

"No, Victor, he's not," Tea said, trying to calm him. "That's not what you're asking, right, Bo?"

"You haven't answered any questions since you've been back, Victor. And now, the same tattoo you have has shown up on my brother," Bo replied. "We need to have a talk about this. A lot has happened, and you seem to be the key."

"Bo, look, it's late. Maybe you and Victor can talk in the morning, right?" Todd asked, stepping in to try and calm the situation.

"Yes, I think that would be for the best," Tea added.

"Good." Todd moved over to Viki. "You need me here? I want to get back to Blair."

"Yes, I'm fine. You go back to your family," Viki said with a weak smile.

Todd nodded. "Can you drop me off at Llanfair?" he asked Tea. She nodded and they piled into the car. A short time later, Todd was walking into the Lord Library. He was surprised to see Blair there.

"Todd, any news on Clint?" she asked as they embraced.

"Well, he's still out of it, from what I heard. And here's the weird thing. He has the same tattoo as Victor," Todd said, point to his wrist.

"What does that mean? He's been branded or something?"

"That's what Bo wanted to know. But Victor…he took it the wrong way. There was a bit of a scene, but I brought it under control," Todd answered with a smirk.

Now Blair looked suspicious. "You calmed down Bo and Victor?"

Todd shrugged his head a bit. "Well, Tea put in her two cents too, I guess." Todd moved to the wet bar and fixed himself a drink. After he poured it, he sat down with Blair joining him. "Victor…he wanted to know about the night…the baby…" He took a gulp of the scotch. Blair knew what he was talking about. It was a subject that even they hadn't brought up. It was too close to one of their darker periods. She also realized it was the secret he had been keeping when she had come to Port Charles for Starr's performance. "He has a crazy idea of what happened that night."

Todd went on to tell Blair about finding Tea in the hotel garage. "He kept asking me if I'd seen anyone there. He was desperate to find that out."

"Well, did you see anyone? Is it possible?" Blair asked in a soft voice.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it's possible. I never really thought about it. It seems too far-fetched."

"When you lose something you love, even if you didn't know you had it, you look for any answer to make the pain go away. They can all be ridiculous but you hold onto them," she said.

"Yeah, I get that," he said as he finished his drink. "Look, it's been a long day. I just want to get some rest. I'll probably go into to check on Viki on the way into the office, tomorrow." He put the glass down and took Blair hand. They closed the light in the room as they left, which suited the dark thoughts Todd was having.

His brother's voice was nagging at him. What if Victor was right and there was another reason Tea's son died? Todd knew it would haunt his thoughts for the night.


	32. Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

August, 2013

Blair could tell that Todd hadn't slept a wink that night. He was normally an insomniac, but this time it was worse. When she had come down to the kitchen and found him pouring a cup of coffee, it wasn't even six in the morning. "I'm not even going to ask you how you slept," she said.

"Third cup of coffee already," he told her. He took a long sip as he moved to the carafe and poured some for Blair. She accepted it as he continued. "I kept going back to that night…what I did wrong. And I'm not even thinking about what happened after I met the crazy lady in the woods." He looked to Blair. "What if there was someone else there, waiting to snatch Tea?"

"Then you saved her from being kidnapped and held by whoever had Victor," she said quietly.

"What if, in saving her from that, I got her kid killed? What if…"

"Todd," she began, putting her hand on his cheek, trying to calm him. It seemed to work. "'What ifs' will kill you. You can't go back. But we can go forward and try to protect the family in the here and now."

Todd took her hand and kissed it. He was about to move on to her lips when Jack and Starr came bounding down the stairs. "Hey, is there any news from the hospital?" Starr asked her father.

"Ah, no, nothing since I left last night. But, when I did leave, they were saying Clint had the same tattoo as Victor," Todd told them.

"What does that mean? Did he become part of the same group as Victor?" Jack asked

Todd shrugged his shoulders. "We don't really know. Victor is still not talking about what happened to him, even as Bo was pressing him last night." He looked at his two children and then at his watch. "What are you two doing up so early anyway?"

"I couldn't sleep," Starr said.

"I was going for a run. I haven't been doing a lot of training for soccer," Jack replied.

Todd nodded. "Look, you want to come into _The Sun_ with me today? I'd like your input on some things," he asked. Jack nodded and left.

"So, the Manning men are running the paper?" Starr asked.

"You know, you could come too. Your mother's still on staff and we could just make it a family affair," Todd said to his daughter.

Starr smirked at him. "As much as I like the sound of that, I never really had any interest in the publishing business. Besides, Aunt Dorian's been texting me for the last few days. She wants to have lunch with me. Probably figures I'm the weakest link in the chain and be more willing to hear her side of things." She shook her head turning to leave. "Who does she think she's dealing with?"

Todd had to chuckle at that. He went to sit at the table when the door opened and Viki walked in. "You're all up?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"We are a family of insomniacs," Todd declared. "Here, sit down, I'll get you some coffee, if you want."

"Thank you," she said.

Blair could see she was tired. "Has there been any change since Todd left?"

"No," she answered as her brother set a coffee cup down in from of her. "The doctors are trying to figure out what he's been given still. They don't want to just take a shot in the dark and have it react to any drugs he may have been given. Larry's running every test known to man right now."

"You should rest," Todd said in his best advice-giving voice. "Seriously, you've been up, how many hours straight? Sleep for a bit, take a shower and go back out. If there's any news, I'm sure your daughters will call you."

"You have a point," she answered. "By the way, how was Victor when you left? I know the two of you went off for a while."

"He's dealing with some things," Todd hedged, not wanting to answer further. "Look, I have to get into the office. Blair, you'll be there?"

His wife nodded and he headed upstairs.

"Dealing with some things?" Viki asked her.

"Well, to be honest, I don't think either of them has processed everything that's happened to them in the last few years. Really, how do you handle finding out that you had a long lost twin brother, then think you killed him and find out you had a false memory planted in you about that?" Blair asked. "And think about it from Victor's point of view. He comes home and finds out his wife was pregnant and the baby was stillborn. That's not even taking into account everything else that happened in Port Charles!"

"You have a point there," Viki agreed. "I just hope that they can eventually find some common ground. I really don't like the idea of them squabbling over _The Sun_ or the inheritance."

"Do you think it would come to that? I mean, I remember the hoops Todd had to jump through to prove he was Victor's son. And they were tailored to him…his medical history, his memories." 

"A good lawyer could challenge it," Viki said matter of factly. "Once everything is calmed down, though, I think I may just talk to the trustees about it. See if I can't find a way for a provision to be made for Victor."

With that, she left the kitchen as Todd returned. "You coming in later on?" Todd asked.

"Yeah, I'll be in a little later. I want to check some things out at Shelter. And I want to run an idea by you about the club, but I have a few things to do first," Blair said. "I'll meet you before lunch, okay?"

Todd nodded. "That sounds like an idea. And I have some ideas about your place at _The Sun_. I want to run them by Briggs when I get in. Hopefully, we'll have everything line up for you by then." He turned to leave but faced her again. "Hey, wanna crash Dorian and Starr's lunch date?"

Blair smirked at Todd. She had to admit she was sorely tempted to do just that, but she shook her head. "Let Starr deal with her on her own. She's more than capable of that, trust me."

Todd nodded and headed back to the door. Then he stopped, turned around and went back to her, kissing her with a passion that nearly knocked her off her feet. When he broke away, she looked to be catching her breath. "See you later," she said.

"See you soon," he answered."

Jack turned the corner by the coffee shop when he noticed Jeffrey King having a seat at a nearby table. He remembered Tea's explanation of the description of the messenger at the hotel in Port Charles. He wondered, briefly, if it could have been Jeffrey. It made sense, as he was a reporter with a story and knowing any of the history between Todd and Dorian. He had heard his aunt mention his father's congratulations on breaking the news about Dorian's scandal. But he also remembered hearing Jeffrey on the phone a few days before and he hadn't liked what he heard. Jack stopped and thought about how to approach the other man then made his way over.

"Hey, Jeffrey, isn't it?" Jack asked.

"Yes, you're Viki Lord's nephew, Jack Manning, right?" Jeffrey answered and asked. When Jack nodded, Jeffrey said, "I heard your father was rescued?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, from up in New York State. He and my uncle made an escape from wherever they were being held. My dad was shot but he's recovering."

"Viki must be relieved. I know she was really worried about the both of them. She thought their kidnapping may have been linked to the scandal with Senator Lord," Jeffrey said. "Isn't she also related to you?"

Jack made a face. "Yeah, she's my mother's aunt but also, well, my step-grandmother, I guess. She was Victor Lord's last wife, hence the name, even if she doesn't remember the relationship well."

"I haven't really met her, but I have seen her and Viki interacting a bit. Viki looks like she'd rather have a root canal," the reporter commented.

Jack thought about it and nodded, smirking a bit. "Yeah, that's a pretty good description. Their issues with each other, well, they predate me, my sister and even my dad knowing he was Victor Lord's son." Then, Jack paused, thinking of what to say next. "By the way, if he hasn't said anything yet, I know my dad was impressed with the story you broke. I think he's a little jealous _The Banner_ got it."

"Well, when I learn of it, I knew she was from Llanview, so I figured her hometown should be the one that got the story. I didn't even really know the full history of Viki and Senator Lord," Jeffrey explained. "Besides, at the time, _The Sun_ didn't seem to be doing a whole hell of a lot. Your dad was out of town, right? Up in New York somewhere."

"Port Charles," Jack supplied. "Ever been there? Dad said it had a load of good news stories. Backstabbing family business deals, mobster galore, even international spies."

Jeffrey shook his head. "No, I've never made my way that far up." He then looked at his watch. "I have to get to the office." He took a few steps away, then turned to Jack. "Say, you think your father would do an interview on his experience? I've heard a little about his kidnapping years ago, thought the latest events could make a good story."

Jack cupped his chin thoughtfully. "I can't promise anything, but I'll check with him. You are right, it would be a good story." With that, Jeffrey did leave. Jack made his way back to Llanfair and after showering, headed into _The Sun_. He found Todd in his office going over some copy. "I ran into Jeffrey King this morning on my run," he informed his father.

That got Todd to look up at his son. "Really? Any good recon?"

"Well, I did bring up if he'd ever been in Port Charles. I told him you said it was a goldmine for the press. He said he had never been there," Jack informed him.

"Why do you have an interest in him anyway?"

Jack sat down. "Well, first, there was the description Dani said was given to her at the hotel you were living at. She said he was a clean cut, young African-American and it made it sound like he wanted to talk to you about newspaper business."

"Like the story he gave _The Banner_?" Todd asked.

"Possible, but he reminded me that your focus wasn't really down here at the time," Jack said. "Then, this is the thing that really set off my alarm. Before you and Victor escaped, I heard him on the phone with someone. And the parts that I got…he sounded like he knew about the scheme to kidnap the two of you. He even said our names, like he knew about the conversation we had when you were taken."

"Who would have told him that?" Todd asked, confused.

"He was at Llanfair a day or so after I got back from Chicago. Aunt Viki called him over, had some questions for him about his story, I think. He came over, but I didn't take part in the talk," Jack said.

Todd looked to be processing the information. "What do we know about Jeffrey King, beyond that fact that he's the savior of _The Banner_?"

"Well, he knows both Matthew and Dani from London," Jack said. When his father gave him a look, Jack gave him a brief rundown on my Matthew was there and how it led him to meet Dani.

"So, London prep school. Those are pricey. I need to talk to Tea about that. See if can do a little digging into it," Todd said. "Meanwhile, fire up your computer. See what you can discover about him using conventional methods."

"You mean legal ones?" Jack asked.

"Jack, I would never put a thought into your head to do anything illegal."

Jack smiled widely, echoing his father's look. As he set to work, he looked up at Todd. "Just to let you know, Mom lectured me about hacking into the hospital's security, after she told me she was proud that I was taking after you with the skills. She also mentioned something about shutting down the power in Llanview?"

Todd merely smiled. "Some other time. Right now, we have things to look into."


	33. Chapter 33

CHAPTER 33

August, 2013

"So, what do you think?" Blair asked as she walked into the main bar.

"You would just give up the club?" Rama asked.

"Not totally, but the day to day running of it? Yes, I would," she responded. "Look, I started this place to escape the crap in my life. I don't have to do that anymore. And, well, someone pointed out to me that this is a younger person's game. Besides, the acts you've brought in, Cutter, they're great, but they, they haven't been my style."

"Well, I have to say, the night you saved us all by singing, it got the most rave reviews from the clubbers than anything else. I'd hate to lose that," Cutter answered, a sly smile on his face.

"Well, as I'll still be the owner, I would be gone completely. And I'm sure I can plan a date once a month or so," she replied.

They were about to continue their conversation when Diego's voice could be heard from atop the stairs. "Sir, we're closed until later. You'll have to come back then."

She didn't hear a response, only scuffling. Getting a sense of déjà vu from the night of the opening, she half-expected to see Todd at the top of the stairs as she went to investigate. When she went to see, it was the next likely suspect there. She called to Diego to let the guy go and Victor approached her from down the stairs. "You know, you two are getting very creepy."

"What do you mean?" Victor asked.

"The night of the opening, Todd pulled the same stunt you just did," she explained. "What do you want?"

"A drink, for starters," Victor answered, ignoring the comment about Todd.

Blair went behind the bar and pulled out a bottle of scotch. After it was poured into the glass, Victor took it and swirled it around the glass. "No warnings about the hour of the day?"

"I gave up pointing stuff like that out to you a long time ago," Blair replied. "Why are you in my establishment at this hour?"

Victor downed the glass then looked at her. "I'm hiding."

"Hiding from whom?"

"Everyone," he answered as he took the bottle and poured another glass. "Bo wants me in for questioning, Tea wants me to give her answers, Viki wants to check up on me." He downed the glass again. "I don't want to deal with any of it."

Blair grabbed the bottle before he could go for it again. "Victor, you can't do that. They all need you. You have a lot of the answers to all this."

"Why do you al think I do?" he shouted. "What if I don't have any of the answers?"

"Victor, you are at the center of all of this. It was your abduction that started all this," Blair told him.

"No, it was Todd's. He was taken and I was sent in to play him," Victor replied softly, getting up.

"Victor…" she called and he stopped. "If you can't tell any of them, do you think you can tell me?"

Victor looked around then he said, "I'll do you one better. I'll tell you and Todd."

Blair nodded and went to her phone. The other end picked up. "You coming in any time soon? Or am I going to have to dock you pay?"

"I had some business at the club and Victor showed up. You may want to come, he wants to talk to the both of us," Blair explained.

"I'll be there as soon as possible," Todd answered, ending the call. Ten minutes later, he entered the club. Looking from Blair to Victor, he said, "You wanted to talk?"

Victor nodded. "Anywhere private here?" Blair led the brothers to her office. On the way there, she told Rama and Cutter they were not to be disturbed. They went into the office and Todd and Victor stood at opposite ends of the room, with Blair strategically between them.

"So, what do you want to tell us? And shouldn't you be telling this to, like Bo or someone?" Todd asked.

Victor remained quiet for a minute, then seemingly ignored Todd's question while asking one of his own. "What do you want to know?"

Todd looked to Blair, confused. She shrugged her shoulders back to her husband and he turned to his brother. "If you can, everything."

Victor nodded. "I was in and out for…a long time. I'm not even sure how long. But I remember being strapped to a chair and feeling intense pain on my wrist. I struggled against it, but nothing happened. And I looked down and it was there," he explained as he looked at his wrist. "And a voice said, 'Now you're one of us, brother.' I looked up and I just remember being scared. It was, maybe, a day later, I made my escape. I knew I had to get out of there."

"What led them to tattoo you?" Todd asked.

"I…I don't even know. I've tried to remember and I can't," he answered, his eyes wild.

Blair could sense Victor was about to do something. She wasn't sure if he would explode or pass out. "Why did you leave town? You were ready to leave even before you went to see Todd."

"I was in the coffee shop and I saw another man with the same tattoo. I thought he was sent after me. I couldn't let him get near Tea or the kids."

Todd took a deep breath before asking, "Why didn't you tell me this? I ask you, I wanted a sign that I could trust you. You telling me this, it could have warned me."

Victor just shook his head. "I don't know. And I wanted to tell you, but I thought…I thought that you were coming after me." At Todd's look, he clarified. "I thought they sent you after me. Remember, I still thought you had shot me. I thought you were part of them."

Todd gave his brother what Blair would have thought was a look of pity. Then, he seemed to move on. "Do you remember any of the faces of the people who were holding you?"

Victor closed his eyes. "Besides Allison….no one."

Todd pulled out his phone and pulled up _The Banner_'s app. After a minute, he handed the phone to Victor. "Does he look familiar?"

Victor took it and his eyes narrowed. "There's something about his face. I've seen it before, I know that."

"It's Viki's savior for _The Banner_. A digital media, blogging whiz. Got the scope of the century that got Dorian ousted from the Senate," Todd said.

"Where she never belonged in the first place," Victor commented.

"I know! And who in their right mind put her on the intelligence committee?" Todd added, then was chastened by Blair's faux pissed look. "Anyway, after I was kidnapped, Jack heard a suspicious call he was making. Jack's looking into it now." He looked at his brother. "You want to come and help?" Victor looked like he gulped. "Look, I did mean most of what I said. We need to put the past behind us. We need…we need to work together." He held out his hand.

Victor looked at it and then, without hesitation, shook it. Todd smiled at him genuinely, and, to Blair's surprise, Victor returned one that was just as warm.

"Well, let's get to _The Sun_, see how Jack is doing," Todd said as they left the office.

A few minutes later, Todd, Blair and Victor walked into Todd's office. Jack looked up and didn't actually look that phased at all by the three coming together.

"You got anything?" Todd asked without preamble.

"I think I…might," Jack answered as he pressed a few keys on his laptop. Then, he said, "Yeah got something there. That school he went to, where he met Matthew and Dani?"

"The Warwick School," Victor answered.

"Yeah, that's the one. It's pretty pricy, but not outrageously so. I," he looked at his parents, "checked out their alumni list and he was there. In fact, when he graduated, the keynote speaker was Carl Peterson."

"Who's Carl Peterson?" Victor asked.

Blair straightened. "He was the keynote speaker for the Man of the Year dinner. Ah, businessman, philanthropist, I think he's generally involved in government, military type groups."

"You have a video of the speech?" Victor asked.

"Yeah, hold on," he answered as he typed in a few commands. "You also wanna see Clint's freakout?" Jack asked slyly.

Todd and Victor each looked at the other like they were seriously considering it before Blair said rolling her eyes, "Just bring up the speech."

All three men had looks of disappointment on their faces as the video was playing. As Carl began to speak, Victor's posture went straight as a pin.

"Victor, what is it?" Todd asked. But his brother seemed to be in a trance. "Victor, do you recognize him? Damn it, tell me-" Todd said as he grabbed his brother's shoulders. What happened next caught everyone by surprise. Victor wrenched Todd's hands off his body and spun Todd around, pinning his arm behind him as he was tossed against a wall. Blair could see the pain in Todd's face and she moved to try and pull Victor off of Todd.

But, it was all happening too quickly to stop. Victor wasn't having any of it. With an almost inhuman strength, he kept Todd pinned there. Blair tried anything to stop Victor. Jack paused the video to try and help his father and then…Victor stopped.

Todd collapsed to the floor, his arm in pain and he suspected with a dislocated shoulder. Blair crouched down next to him, checking him out. He tried to wave her off, but she went to the phone. "You need an ambulance," she told him.

Todd didn't answer, just looked at Victor. "What the hell was that?" he yelled through the pain.

Victor seemed to shake himself out of the moment. "What…what just happened?"

"You don't know?" Jack asked. He looked to his father, then back to Victor. "I started playing the video and you went…blank. You stood up straight, like a soldier. When Dad tried to talk to you, you attacked him."

Victor just stared at the three blankly.

Todd took control of the moment. "Look, the police are going to be here with the EMTs. The story is we got into an argument. I'm not…I'm not pressing charges. But you are talking to Bo…or a shrink…or both! Deal?"

Blair looked to Victor, who looked truly spooked by what happened. But he seemed to understand Todd. He nodded as the emergency techs got there.


	34. Chapter 34

CHAPTER 34

August, 2013

Blair brought Todd to the hospital instead of the EMTs. He refused most of the treatment they were giving him, but Blair wouldn't let him off so easily. Jack stayed behind with Victor to give a statement. When they got to Llanview Hospital, unfortunately, they saw Viki first.

"What happened to you?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"Uh, I, um" Todd stuttered, unprepared for dealing with this sister.

"Well, Victor stopped by Todd's office today," Blair began.

However, before she could continue, Viki rolled her eyes. "Oh, Todd, I had hoped you two could have waited to start with the fight over the money! There are many more important things to worry about than the inheritance."

Todd, who still wasn't so peachy keen with his brother that he wouldn't take advantage of a situation, grinned at that comment. "That was what I said, but he attacked me, and may I say, it was unprovoked." Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Blair's disapproving look. "Don't worry, I'm not going to press charges against him, though. He did apologize for losing his temper before we left to come here."

Viki continued with the disapproving look. "I still have hope that you two will at least come to some understanding. I don't expect you to ever be close. Lord knows Tina and I have had our issues over the years," she said.

Todd at least looked suitably chastened. "I'm sorry, I really am. You know, we are working on our relationship. It's just, it's going to take a lot of time." Then he looked over at Viki. "Is there any more word on Clint?"

"Yes, actually, he regained consciousness a little while ago. The girls are in with him now," she answered.

"Have you been in to see him?" Todd asked.

She eyed her brother again. "It's more important for Natalie and Jessica to see their father, I think."

A nurse then came over and Todd and Blair moved over to an exam room. Larry Wolek followed them a few minutes later. "You're getting to be a regular here, aren't you Todd?" he asked.

"Not by choice," Todd grumbled as Larry examined his shoulder.

"What happened now?"

"Rough housing with my brother?" Todd tried.

"Somehow, Manning, I doubt that," he heard Bo say as he came in. "I just got the report from the officer who was at the incident and, sorry, I just don't buy it."

Todd turned to Larry. "Look, can you give us a minute?" Larry looked between the two and left. Todd turned back to Bo. "I do need to talk to you…about some things."

"Like the fight that was just reported to the station between you and Victor?" Bo asked in his usual suspicious tone. "You're going to tell me that it was completely unprovoked, right?"

"It was, Bo," Blair chimed in. "We may have gotten closer to some of what happened to both Todd and Victor."

"Okay, then, what did you find out?" Bo questioned.

Todd gave him a rundown of the day's events, with the exception of Jeffrey King's possible involvement. "Jack found the video of Carl Peterson's speech and when Victor heard his voice, he got…weird."

"Weird how?"

"He went rigidly straight when Carl was talking on the video. I tried to get his attention, tried to shake him out of it," Todd explained, waving to his limp arm. "That was what the outcome of that was."

"And once Jack shut the video off, Victor went back to normal," Blair added.

"Well, normal for him, at any rate," Todd commented snidely.

"What are you saying?" Bo asked, looking disbelieving.

Todd had to roll his eyes. "I'm saying that right now, my prime suspect in all this is Carl Peterson."

Bo turned around, trying to rein in his anger and collect his thoughts. "You don't even have circumstantial evidence at this point. I still don't even know what you are trying to say here. What do you think Carl Peterson did, if he had anything to do with this, and I don't buy that now?"

"I think he brainwashed Victor," Jack said as he joined the group.

Bo turned to Jack. "Come again?"

Jack rolled his eyes, the very image of his father. "When Victor heard the voice it was like a switch went on. When I turned the video off, it went off."

"And I tried to shake him out of it and he attacked me," Todd said.

"Todd, what you are telling me is fanciful at best, insane at worst." Bo began to walk away. "Look, if you can bring me solid evidence, I can pursue it. But right now, in a competition between you and Carl Peterson about who I believe, I'm sorry, it's not you."

When he was gone, Todd turned to Blair. "Why does that not surprise me?" Blair offered him a sympathetic smile. "Well, I do have a reputation, as does Victor. And I'm not so sure how much I want to awaken the Hulk to prove my point. In fact, that's my last option."

"What's your last option?" Starr asked as she came in.

"Hey, Shorty. Uh, we may have found something out about Victor today. Unfortunately, I had to confront him about it and that's why I'm here." Todd gave Starr a quick update as to the day's events. "And, shock of shocks, Bozo doesn't believe me."

"Well, this may interest you. My lunch today, with Aunt Dorian, wasn't just with her," Starr said. "Carl Peterson also joined us."

"Well, that's not a big surprise," Blair commented. At Todd's looks, she said, "He's being hanging with her for a while now. They were seated together at the dinner, he bought her portrait for a quite frankly ridiculous sum…"

"The overly romantic one that used to hang at the top of the stair's at La Boulaie?" Todd asked, making a face. "Why would anyone want that painting?"

Blair chose to ignore his comment. "She was also having drinks with Carl at La Boulaie and they went to DC together. Also, he seemed overly interested in Victor Lord."

"Yeah, he seemed impressed by the fact that Victor Lord was my grandfather," Jack said with a measure of disgust.

"And he alluded to the fact that Dorian was married to him, which she did seem to want to forget," Blair added.

"Well, on that one, I have to agree with Dorian," Todd said.

"At lunch today, he kept harping on it too. Like Victor Lord was someone who you should strive to be," Starr said. "To her credit, Dorian kept trying to steer the conversation away from that subject."

Todd felt the bile threatening to rise in his chest. He had been all too aware of how similar he had the potential to be to his biological father. He shook the thought from his head. "Look, Bo's not going to even look at Peterson unless we find something solid." He then got a thought. "I need to see Natalie," he declared as he moved off the exam table.

"Hey, wait, Larry needs to finish checking you out," Blair told him, holding her hands up to stop him.

"Fine," Todd grumbled. "Let Larry fix me up. But right after, I need to talk to Natalie."

Larry came in then and finished his exam of Todd. Once it was over, Todd hightailed it to the waiting room. He didn't see Viki so he asked a nurse where she was. The nurse pointed towards a room, where Todd found Viki sitting beside Clint's bed. A part of him didn't want to disturb them, but he needed answers. Putting on his most charming demeanor, he knocked on the door. Viki saw him and beckoned him in.

"Well, it's good to see you," Todd managed to say without any sarcasm.

Clint didn't look to be buying it. "What do you want Manning?"

Letting out a breath, Todd answered, "Well, I wanted to check in on you. I know…I know Viki was really worried about you. Despite a lot of the craziness I heard went down, she's really been worried about you." Viki looked at him wide-eyed. "Come on, sis, like I said, you're about as done with him as Blair is with me."

"You and Blair? Give me strength!" Clint exclaimed. "What is it with you and your sister? You just can't get over your exes?"

Todd was usually loath to admit to having anything in common with Tina, but this time, he actually wanted to defend her. "What can I say? They're in our blood, in our head, in our heart." Then he turned to Viki. "Where's Natalie?"

"She had to get back to the office and Jessica went home to check on the children. Have you been looked at?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I got to go," he said as he turned to leave. "Look, Clint, I hope you get better."

He walked back into the hall. "Viki said Natalie went back to her office, so can you drive me there?" he asked Blair.

She nodded, smiling at him. "I heard what you said in there to Clint."

Todd gave her a bashful smile. "Well, a wise woman told me it once and I guess it also applies to my idiot brother-in-law as well."

Blair gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Then, she asked him, "Why do you need to talk to Natalie? You so often actively avoid her."

"I need to get a phone number from her. If Bo wants a formal case built, I know a cop who may be helpful in that.'"

"You know a cop? Who would be willing to help you with that? No cop on the LPD likes you."

"Well, conveniently, he's not on the LPD. Well, at least not yet," Todd said with an air of mystery. "Come on, I'll explain it on the way there." With that, they left the hospital.


	35. Chapter 35

CHAPTER 35

August, 2013

In the order of things Todd liked, talking to Natalie was not in the top ten. It was probably not even in the top one hundred. Since the redheadeded interloper got to Llanview, she had rubbed him the wrong way. It went beyond the fact that she had taken Jessica's place in the family (and led to years of confusion afterwards, as well). Todd knew what it was like to learn about your roots later in life. He had gone through pretty much everything Natalie went through. Unlike her, however, Todd hadn't barged into Llanfair like Natalie had. It took him years to feel at ease with the rest of the Lords and, to be honest, he still didn't feel like part of the family.

Still, he needed that phone number and, by the conversation he had had with Natalie a few days ago, suspected she had it. It made him uncomfortable, but not nearly as much as the idea of his daughter with that slick haired sugar daddy. No, he wasn't going to think about that right now. Now, he had to deal with his disliked niece and her possible new boyfriend.

He stepped into Natalie's office, not even trying to be charming as he had with Clint earlier. "I need to get a phone number from you," he demanded bluntly.

Natalie was a bit startled to see Todd even in her office. It took her a minute to process what he was saying. "I'm sorry, you need what?"

"A phone number. Jeez, did you not hear me?" Todd asked, irritated that he had to repeat himself.

Natalie offered him nasty smirk. "Why do you need something from me? And, do you actually think I'll give it to you?"

Todd rolled his eyes. "I think you will, because it can help us catch who or whatever is after our family." He then decided to go for a gentler approach. "Yes, I actually do consider you family. And your name was on that list, as I'm sure you know. Look, give me the number and you can even stay and listen to the conversation. I may…I may actually need your help eventually."

"Whose number do you need?" she asked, resigned.

"Nick Jobek's."

Natalie paused her scrolling through the contact list on her phone. "Why do you think I'd have his number?"

"Well, he is your latest boyfriend, right? I figured you'd have exchanged it by now," Todd commented. Natalie went back to her task, not referring to Todd's intimations. "Hey, at least I approve of this last one. Cutter was really not the type of guy I'd want around my nieces, even the ones I don't like. And John…the less said about him, the better."

Wordless, Natalie showed Todd the number. He dialed it and turned the speaker on. After a few rings, the other end picked up. "Nick Jobek speaking," he announced.

"Nicky, Todd Manning."

"Hey there, bruiser. What can I do for you?"

"When are you heading back to Llanview?"

"As it just so happens, I'm at the gate at Midway, waiting to board."

"And when do you start with the Keystone Kops?"

"Buchanan told me of your loathing of the police," Nick said. "I'm not supposed to start for another couple of weeks. I'm just heading out early because I have time off and I wanted to catch up with you."

It had been so long since Todd had anyone he could come close to calling a friend, especially another man, that it sounded strange to his ears to hear anyone wanting to 'catch up' with him. "When you get here, come to Llanfair as soon as you can. I have a deal I want to make with you and several people who are there already."

"What kind of deal?" Nick asked. "Has there been a break in the case?"

"Yeah, there may be, but, in his infinite wisdom, your soon to be boss doesn't believe me and won't pursue it. So, I need help from someone who will at least think for a split second about giving me the benefit of the doubt. There are so few people who are willing to do that here," Todd said as he eyed Natalie. "And, hey, if you help, you'll be working with that hot readhead you were asking me about."

"I thought you didn't like the idea of me and your niece?"

"Well, truth be told, you're a step up from her last boyfriend. He was a cop too, and he arrested me," Todd explained. "And the funny thing is, I never even broke the law!" Todd glanced at Natalie and caught her narrowed eyed gaze.

From the other side of the phone, a flight was being called. "Look, that's me. I'll be there soon and you can explain this all to me, because I am so confused right now," Nick said.

Todd shook his head. "Okay, call me when you land, I'll have a car waiting for you. Talk to you soon." He ended the call abruptly, putting his phone in his jacket pocket. "When he gets here, meet me in the carriage house at Llanfair. And find your sister and her boyfriend. I think he could be useful."

"Useful in what?" Natalie asked, not sure she even wanted the answer.

"In my investigation." With that, Todd left Natalie looking more confused than usual.

He skillfully avoided running into Bo Buchanan at the station, but, as his hand was about to reach the handle on the door, he heard one of the most unpleasant voices. "Todd Manning, what brings you down here? Shoot your brother again?" Nora Buchanan asked.

Todd took a deep breath as he turned to the Llantano County District Attorney. "Hi, Nora. Um, no, I haven't even shot my brother once, if you want to bring it up."

"What are you doing here, Todd?" she asked again, as she began to lose her patience.

"I was here visiting my niece, if you must know."

Nora crossed her arms at that. "You have to be up to something. You don't even like Natalie!"

"Doesn't mean I can't visit her in the place where she works," Todd retorted. "Look, I have a busy schedule to keep. Remember, big newspaper publisher. I'm sure there's some scandal in the DA's office that's just waiting to be uncovered. Tootles!" With that, he made his escape.

Blair was waiting for him in the car. "What took you so long? You said it would be an in and out."

"Natalie was being a bit uncooperative and Nora stopped me and accused me of some crime. Same old, same old." He checked his phone when he heard a message beep. "Jack's back at Llanfair, said he has some information that may be useful. We should head there." He very deliberately avoided using the word home. He had never, nor never would, consider the Lord estate as his home. And he was getting anxious for the renovation on the penthouse to be complete. He wanted to be back in the only place he'd ever come close to considering home as soon as possible.

"You know, Jack's been getting very good with the computer. I'm sure you heard he hacked the hospital's security," Blair said with a touch of pride.

"Yeah, he had mentioned it. And he asked me about the blackout," Todd said, a smile on his face. "That was a fun night."

"Yeah, it was," Blair said. They drove in silence the rest of the way back. When they got there, Jack was in the library going through a trunk with Jessica. "Hey, your dad said you had something for us?" she asked her son.

Jack looked up. "Yeah, Jessica helped me with it," he said.

"Well, it was Jack's idea," Jessica replied with a reassuring smile.

Jack blushed a little bit. "It was just something I wanted to follow up on." He stepped back from the trunk. "After Mom gave me the note you sent her, the one with the papers giving her control of the paper, I did a little investigating of my own…about Victor Lord."

Todd looked like he didn't comprehend. "What did you want to know about him? I think we know all we need to about him."

"Well, did you know that he was a World War II vet?" Jack asked. "And that he was in the OSS?"

"I've never really cared about him, so, no, I didn't. What's the big deal about that?" he asked.

"The OSS was a forerunner of the CIA. As in, whatever group Irene was working for. They supposedly had ties to the CIA. Maybe that was even how she got connected," Jack answered.

"And we went through Grandfather's trunk of wartime memorabilia. There were some files in it that had an interesting name come up," Jessica said as she handed it to Todd.

"Elizabeth Dalton," Todd said.

Jack nodded. "I ran the name through a web search. She was a young private who, it looks like, served as Victor secretary during his time in the service."

"Another conquest?" Todd asked sarcastically.

"Not quite. Elizabeth Dalton returned to the States after the war and married a Charles Peterson," Jessica began to explain. "He died about seven years later and she remarried, this time to a Walter Perkins."

"Peterson and Perkins?" Blair asked. "You're not saying…"

Jack took over. "We went further. With Peterson, she had a son, Carl. With Perkins she had a daughter…"

"Allison Perkins," Todd concluded. "Now that's an interesting turn."

"What's an interesting turn?" Viki asked as she came into the room.

"Nothing, sis," Todd answered too quickly. "We were just talking about…the chances for Jack's soccer team this year. Turns out the captain broke his leg, will be out for the season."

"Okay, what's really going on…and why do you have Father's Army trunk out?"

"Um, well," Jessica began.

"I…I wanted to look into something I learned about him," Jack said. "Look, I don't like bringing him up with you or anyone else, but I mention to Jessica that I saw in his obituary that he was in the Army and Jessica mention that this was up there." He turned and waved back to it. "She helped me get it down and go through it."

Jack could tell his aunt wasn't buying it, but was shocked when she said, "You should know about your grandfather, all there is about him." She went to the trunk and started shifting through the items in it. "I really don't even know that much about his time in the war. He never talked about it to me." Then she stood up. I need to get a room ready. Clint may be released tomorrow and I think it best for him to stay here with us."

"I agree, Sis," Todd said as Blair added, "If you need any help, let us know."

Viki nodded and left the room.

Todd turned to Jack. "Let's get this into the carriage house. I really don't want anything around here that reminds her of the old man." He turned to Jessica. "Where's your latest boyfriend?"

"Brody? He had a meeting with Uncle Bo at the station, but he should be back soon," she answered.

"When he gets here, have him meet us in the carriage house," Todd told her. "Nick should be landing in Philly soon, and I need to have a car meet him at the airport and bring him back here. When he's here, Natalie should be here as well. I want all of us, including Starr, to gather there. I think it may also be a good idea to have Victor and Tea here as well. We need a firmer plan here, and we will put make one…together."


End file.
